The Commoner Queen
by Pilargirl
Summary: AU. A 1000 years ago, a plague extinguished 3/4 of Britain's magical population, including 3 of the 4 founders; Godric Gryffindor remained and founded a new world, with a monarchy that would last for years to come. Now, Ginny Weasley is the Holyhead Harpies' star Chaser and a simple commoner, but Harry James Potter of Evans and Gryffindor, Prince of Wales, has his eye on her.
1. Prologue

**Complete Summary:**

AU. A 1000 years ago, a magical Plague extinguished three quarters of Britain's magical population, including three of the four founders; Godric Gryffindor remained and founded a new world, with a monarchy that would last for years and years to come. Now, Ginny Weasley is the Hollyhead Harpies' star chaser and a simple commoner, but Harry James Potter of Evans and Gryffindor, Prince of Wales, has an eye on her.

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><p><strong>AN:** _So, hey, guys. I'm going to start by telling you this...This is a very risky story because it is barely a Harry Potter story...and after hearing that, a lot of you will stop reading, but I loved the idea of mixing a good plot with some good magic, and I happen to love AUs that are nothing like canon but still somehow make things fit. That's what I'm trying here._

_This is a romance story and, really, there is not much more to it, except that it's a modern tough love that no one is too sure about. I don't want to give too much out, but, if you're a romance lover and, more importantly, a devoted Harry/Ginny shipper...stay along and give the story a try; I think you might really enjoy it :)_

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><p><strong><em>14th December 2004 <em>**

London was decorated by a covered grey sky, a sky that threatened to break down crying but seemed to be too stubborn to show it's real side.

The tea cup shook slightly in the queen's left hand as she watched her only son apparate into the secluded garden area. He had never been someone who gave out his emotions, but she had always been able to read him perfectly, and right now she knew that, underneath that fake smile and that careless expression, he was in the same mood as that sky.

"If you don't stop shaking, you're going to drop the tea," the masculine voice interrupted her thoughts.

She turned around and looked at her husband, sitting behind the wooden desk.

"He's destroyed; he's completely destroyed," her motherly tone hugged her normal voice as she looked back at the window, and found her son walking towards the media. "He's suffering, and the first thing he has to do is talk to them; he can't even come in and let me hug him, and he wouldn't do it anyway; he won't until you learn to stop treating him like a child."

She heard the chair being moved slightly and, a few seconds later, the king was taking the cup from her hand, placing it on the window sill and covering her hands with his own.

"It's the way it is, Lily, he's used to it, just like you and me were...and we all know this whole thing was not meant to last, we all know it just couldn't be," James the Second spoke with his softer tone, one that only his children and wife tended to hear.

Lily turned around to look at him, placing her arms on his chest and leaning against them. "The worst thing is I didn't even like her," she confessed. "Four years, five breakups, three _almost_-proposals, so much suffering... and none of us even liked her that much. She could've never been queen."

James was going to speak again, but his son's voice reached them and they shared a look before walking towards the front yard, where Harry James, Prince of Wales, was speaking.

"It has been a mutual agreement between Cho and I, and the friendship between us will hopefully remain for years to come. This relationship has ended privately and for private reasons, reasons that do not include the crown or the king and queen."

The twenty-four year old stopped for a second and his emerald eyes found his mum's similar ones. He offered her a small smile.

"The fact stands that the split is most definite and, as I have stated, any further meeting will be an act of friendship. I thank you all for your time and concern. Good afternoon."

And having said that, he gave a final smile and wave and apparated on the spot.

Lily Potter looked at her husband displeased.

"It's your fault that he doesn't stay, you know? Now I'll have to go to his house and it will be his territory... the least you could do is say sorry, don't you think?"

James sighed. "It happened a month ago, Lily, and I only said what was right... He's even come to the same conclusion, obviously."

Lilly shook her head as she started walking inside, the media seemed to be asking them some questions, but they simply gave a small smile and ignored them. "The reason it's ended has nothing to do with your insistence that she's not royal; it has to do with the fact that he knows he and Cho would never work out in the long run; how long have they actually been together in these four years, if you take away trips and, most importantly, the breakups...Merlin, they can barely stand each other!"

James Potter looked down at his wife but didn't say anything; if Voldemort had not dissolved the monarchy when James's father had almost been ready to be king, he would have had a lot of troubles to marry Lily Evans, who _was _the Princess of Norway, just not magical Norway, since Lily Evans's parents were Muggles, and Lily was the first witch to ever been born in Muggle monarchy.

Salazar Slytherin might have died hundreds of years ago, along with three-quarters of the magical population of that time, but his ideals hadn't left the quarter that survived, and Muggle-borns were still criticized by a part of the world.

So, yes, in that aspect, it hadn't been hard for him, and he didn't wish for it to be hard for his son, but Cho Chang had been a model, a model that was always too miserable and egoistic to care about a crown; a model that was just not for his son.

James saw his wife start twisting on the spot and sighed; he would never win a fight against her; she always got the last word, and he loved her too much to not let her have what she wanted.

* * *

><p>"It's very... <em>comfy<em>," Molly Weasley spoke as she looked around the small flat in London.

Her daughter laughed as she put her hair up in an untidy bun and then, with a flick of her wand, charmed the objects in the box to order themselves on the wooden shelf.

"You can say you hate it, I don't mind, Mum," Ginny Weasley told her mother as she smiled.

The older woman shook her head. "I don't hate it, of course I don't hate it, I just don't understand why you wouldn't rather come live at The Burrow... you've been in Wales for far too long, and now that they finally let you live in London, you're going to live here?"

Ginny rolled her eyes and proceeded to set up the kitchen cupboards.

"For a start," she said. "There's an Apparating platform in the basement of the building, which means it'll take less energy to Apparate, and it will take me even less time to get to Wales four days a week. And, secondly, well... Mum, I adore The Burrow, just like I adored Wales, but, with you, I've always got you on my case, and in Wales, I always had Gwenog on me... making sure her star-chaser-in-the-making was perfect. Now, I want to have liberty, now I _am _that star chaser, now I've reached the point I want, I want to enjoy it for as long as I can, alone and with freedom."

Molly simply nodded, knowing that arguing with her daughter would be of no use; she did not know a more stubborn person and she had lost this argument far too many times.

"Have you seen Dean lately?" the matriarch asked casually, but Ginny still, characteristically, rolled her eyes.

"We've exchanged a few owls," the twenty-three year old answered, pausing to look at her mother. "Mum, you know that that's over, it's a mistake of the past."

Molly bit her lip. "But, there's a spark, right? You still talk..."

Ginny shook her head at her mother and frowned. "We were together since I was thirteen, Mum...we were stupid enough to elope and get married in the Muggle way when I was barely twenty and, after two months of living in the same house, I realized I couldn't put up with his artistic perfectionism and he couldn't understand my love for Quiddich and the effort I put into it... We got a divorce and now we greet each other pleasantly from time to time... no more to it."

Molly nodded, but she couldn't help the sigh that came from her lips. A divorce in the Wizarding world was so uncommon... of course, her daughter didn't actually have a Wizarding ceremony, so no bond was made; however, it still hurt. She didn't give it another thought, though; she knew it was a tough subject for Ginny.

"And, is there anyone else?"

A small smile crept onto Ginny's face. "Lee Jordan...you know, the twin's best friend from school and the personal trainer for the Harpies... he's nice and incredibly handsome... a bit self-centred, but I don't know..."

Ginny sat down on the sofa and her mum sat beside her. "I'm at the top, Mum... And, unless there's an accident, I'll be at the top for at least three more years, and then I'll still have two or three more years of playing, maybe in a smaller team, but I'll still play... and then I'll coach or I'll be a sports correspondent, you know I've always thought that we need some proper journalists out there... I'm gonna make my name known. When people say 'Ginny Weasley', I want people to look up. They already do, but I want that to always be there. Men, well they come and go, I really don't care... my career... well, there's no man who could take that from me."

Molly Weasley simply smiled at her and decided to keep quiet. Her daughter may be feisty and have a strong personality, but behind that she'd always been a hopeless romantic, one that would leave everything for the right man, even if she didn't know it yet.

* * *

><p>By the time the queen had apparated to the other side of the palace, her son had changed into his duelling outfit and was swinging his wand madly at Mad-eye Moody, the Minister of Warlike affairs. She took a few steps towards the training room, and as she got nearer, all she could see was how heart-broken Harry was.<p>

"Sectum-" Harry started shouting, but as he was about to pronounce the spell, his wand flew out of his hand and towards the red-headed female standing at the glass door.

Harry turned around to look at her, his face slightly annoyed as he tried to catch his breath.

"Hello, Alastor," Lily spoke politely. "Do you think I could have a moment alone with the prince?"

The man nodded courtly. "Of course, your Majesty." He then turned to Harry again. "I'll be back in two hours or so, practice that right flick..."

Mad-eye walked out of the room and Lily took a step forward and put her arms around her son's body, seconds later, he responded.

"I'm okay," Harry said, pulling back. "I really _am_ fine."

Lilly gave a small comfortable laugh. "You're always ok, you're always fine... but not really, Cho and you have been through a lot, you thought she was the one..."

"I thought I didn't have to keep on looking," Harry interrupted her. "There's a big difference. I... I just turned twenty-four, Liz is twenty-one and she's already pregnant..."

"Hey," Lily tried to soothe him. "Elizabeth is a special case; your sister is probably one of the youngest Queens in the world at this moment. I myself, don't like the idea that she married so young... it's another story, we all know... Federico was being forced to choose and she was in love, but that doesn't mean she's better than you... in a lot of ways, she just had it easier."

Harry sat down. "I just... I don't want to marry a royal, it seems even pathetic at this point, we're a modern society, are we not?"

"Of course we are," Lily told him. "But, Harry, we also rule a lot of people... it took your father and me a lot to make this people believe in us, love us... after what your dad had to do to get rid of Voldemort, it seemed half of Britain would never respect us... but your dad set them straight; he created the best parliament ever seen, he was our saviour, but we all had to make sacrifices, and this monarchy is very old, it has been through so much... to let a commoner in would create a revolt. To let a model like Cho, who had been caught in compromising moments... well, it just hardly seems ok."

"I've already said," Harry repeated. "There's about 6 royal women I can actually marry, I will not choose, it hardly seems fair..."

Lilly caressed his cheek softly. "It is your choice, son. Even if your father must give his blessing, ultimately; it is always your choice."

Harry looked at her for a second, knowing that she was telling him what she always had, that being king was a gift, not an obligation... abdicating would always be an option. But he had always known he would marry for love, and he had thought, once, that that love was Cho, the model, and at another time, Padma, the singer; but most importantly, the reasons to leave those relationships behind had never been about the crown, they had been about him.

* * *

><p>"And," Victoria Clarence's voice vibrated through the hall that lead to the locker rooms, "Ladies and more ladies... this is our star chaser, finally out of the initiating training camp and back living in London... this is, the 'Red Flash'!"<p>

Ginny laughed at her and hit her playfully with the bag she was carrying on her left shoulder.

"Also knows as Ginny Weasley!" Coral added, standing at the back of the room.

The girls laughed and headed towards Ginny, congratulating her. She had just finished picking up her last things from the training camp and was now out for sure.

She had always loved Wales, ever since she was sent there to spend a week with her Aunt Muriel in the summer, when she was five. She hated her aunt, but the place had captivated her, specially the fact that from the garden of her aunt's house, you could see the Holyhead Harpies' stadium and she could daydream about flying in it.

That's why she was sad to leave the training camp. In reality she should've been out of there two years ago, and she was out... when she married Dean, but after the split she had begged Gwenog to let her stay there again, in the comfort of knowing she was always with friends and working in the thing she liked more than any other thing.

She then looked around and couldn't help but laugh at the sight of Kayla carrying a diadem with a small bat engraved in it...

"For the Princess of Wales!" she shouted. "The best Chaser ever seen!"

Ginny shook her head and Kayla put the diadem on her head. "Careful, Kayla, no princess here, I'll leave that to darling 'Chang'."

They all laughed. "Not anymore, Gin," Victoria spoke up. "They broke up, definitely; Prince Potter is back on the market."

Ginny laughed and took the diadem of her head. "Either way," she spoke. "Still no princess here, thankfully; although... that part about being the best chaser ever..."


	2. Chapter 1

**29****th**** June 2005 - 8 months later**

"And Ginny Weasley grabs the Quaffle; only her flaming red hair can be seen as she speeds towards the goalposts, Wood looks slightly panicked...Weasley moves to the left, Wood copies her movement... she then moves to the right, the keeper tries to follow, but Ginny catches him half-way, the Quaffle hits the captain's arm and it rebounds straight into the middle goal post. Go, Ginny Weasley! What a chaser this girl is..."

Harry smiled to himself as he listened to the wireless; in moments like this he wished the Wizarding world had televisions... he wished he could see her flying through the air.

She was amazing; Ginny Weasley was... the best chaser he had ever seen. He'd only really seen her once, during the first quarter of a match that he'd been able to see while he was meeting up with his brother-in-law, the Magical King of Spain. Federico and he had been good friends in their youth. Funny enough, Federico had studied in Hogwarts, with Harry's sister, while Harry had studied in Monteconcha, a magical school situated in the south of Spain. They had both met in summer holidays, normally in France, and they were great friends, mainly because they were both in very similar situations, heirs to the throne and both sent out of their countries so they could get a better education that wouldn't be damaged by their fame and the risk of not being properly protected.

"Son, what are you listening to?" Lily Potter's voice erupted in the room.

Harry, a little startled, turned around and smiled at his mother.

"Just listening to the wireless, that Ginny Weasley is going to lead the Harpies to the final, I can just see it," Harry told her with optimism, an optimism that his mother hadn't seen in a while.

"Do you know her?" Lily asked, curiously.

Harry eyed his mother for a second and then answered. "Not yet," he spoke up. "But I will; I have got to ask her how she does that dive, she pulls it all so well, and I can barely..."

"Go on a broom," Lilly finished sternly. "Right, Harry? You can barely go on a broom because it's dangerous and you're the heir to the throne."

Harry nodded. "Mum, I'm not fifteen anymore, I know what I can and can't do... When's Liz arriving?"

Lily rolled her eyes and the change of topic but answered the question. "In a week or two... Federico doesn't want to take the baby out of the country yet. I mean, she's only three months old, so I guess I understand, and Federico is busy. He doesn't want them to travel alone, that little girl is, after all, pretty important."

"And, Max, when's he coming home?" Harry inquired about his seventeen-year-old brother.

"Who knows?" Lilly spoke with a laugh. "He loves Norway, he loves the 'Muggle' life... seriously, sometimes I think he must be a Squib with a wand that does magic on its own... It's lucky that he isn't you, Harry... I don't think he could deal with having to rule a magical kingdom like Britain."

Harry agreed with a quick nod and returned his attention to the game, but it was only a few minutes later that the royal protocol secretary came in.

"Your Highness, you have a meeting with the International and Warlike Affairs Ministers," the brunette announced kindly.

"Come on, call me Harry, Hermione," the man told her as he stood up. Hermione laughed. "Two years already and it's always 'your Highness... do I look any older than you? Do I look more intelligent? No, so just call me, Harry."

Hermione bit her lip. "I shouldn't, the rule 3.78 of the Magical Constitution declares that the royal family must be..."

"Hermione," Harry interrupted her. "You're a lot more intelligent, attractive and worthy than me, so, please, just call me Harry; because, prince or not, I'm still just a poor bloke who has to deal with being born, living and dying, just like anybody else."

Hermione offered him a small smile. "Were you listening to the Harpies match?"

Harry smiled and nodded. "You like Quiddich?"

Hermione laughed again. "No! Not really...but I married into a family who's very obsessed with it..."

Harry shot her a curious look as he realized he didn't know her married name. She had been single up to last year, but before Hermione could explain, her watch beeped and she told Harry that he was running late.

"Fine, but you have to tell me about your sporty in-laws some other time, Hermione!"

* * *

><p><strong>7<strong>**th**** July 2005**

"Floo-call me later on, okay?" Vicky told Ginny before walking out the door.

Ginny shouted a yes in reply and finished putting things in her bag. She grabbed two concert tickets and threw them in a bin, they were from months ago, for that concert that she and Lee had been about to go to before they decided that whatever they had going on wasn't really worth it.

The red-head was about to leave when she saw her brother in the lobby, seemingly waiting for her.

"Ron?" Ginny spoke up, causing the man to look up and smile at her.

Ron took a few steps forward and gave his sister a small hug. "Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah," Ginny told him. "Great... is anything up? What are you doing here?"

"Well, maybe I just came to see you," Ron teased her.

Ginny raised her eyebrows and answered sarcastically. "Sure, and maybe I don't play Quiddich. What's up?"

Ron sighed in defeat. "My boss, the Sports Minister," he started. "He's throwing a dinner tonight, but I can't go because Hermione and I have to go round her parents, so I thought maybe you could take my place... I mean, you _know,_ Jerry... he might be the Minister but you guys get on well and there will be important people there, people that are worth knowing, so, you know...what do you think?"

"I don't know... until when will it go on? Because I've got an important match tomorrow," Ginny inquired.

"It'll go on until eleven maximum, really..." Ron told her.

"And, who'll be taking the place that Hermione won't be occupying?" Ginny asked.

Ron shook his head. "No idea. Jerry said he'd invited someone important; but he doesn't know if they're coming. It's a good opportunity and you'll enjoy hanging around these people. Besides, you'll be doing me a favour, I know they don't force Quiddich players to learn the protocol, but if you miss, someone must go in your place."

Ginny smiled. She and her brother had always been close, maybe a little less during Hogwarts and even less during the few months that her marriage lasted, when Ron didn't even speak to her, but they loved each other a lot. Maybe he got on better with Bill and she got on better with Charlie, but there was a bond between them, caused by the lack of a big age difference; that was too special to analyse.

"Fine, I'll do it, but if I turn out hating it, you're taking my place in the next Harpies investment meeting. I swear... I'll make you go through the whole five hours of money counting..."

Ron laughed and kissed his sister's cheek. "I'm sure you'll love it."

* * *

><p>Ginny entered the lift and looked at herself in the mirror.<p>

Her hair was a mess, completely loose and it was obvious that she had barely had time to deal with it; it curled on the ends like always and gave her a lion-like look. She also sighed at her clothes, she had tried her hardest to find a proper outfit, but the three dress robes she had were far too formal and everything else was too casual... she'd never really given that much thought to clothes. At Hogwarts she wore her uniform most of the time, and ,when she didn't, she wore jeans, a lot similar to now. In the end, she'd Flooed to Ron and Hermione's and taken the older girl's blue informal robe, which she hoped would fit in well enough.

She stepped out of the elevator and found herself facing a huge living room, decorated in light beige pastel tones but with a modern architectonic mix.

"The Red Flash!" Jerry Caporal's voice was heard approaching her.

Ginny smiled at the man in his fifties, who was being followed closely by his wife.

"It's Ginny, Mr. Caporal, no 'Red Flash' nonsense," Ginny greeted him as she shook his hand.

Jerry laughed. "No nonsense at all, it _is _a most brilliant name and describes you perfectly. And, Ginny, it's Jerry..."

Ginny smiled. "It's very good to see you, Jerry."

They both shared a small laugh before Jerry introduced his wife to Ginny, who greeted her politely.

"Please, feel free to go anywhere, there's appetizers on the centre table and we'll be eating in the garden when all the guests have arrived," the woman told Ginny kindly.

Ginny smiled and walked inside, greeting a few people on the way and stopping at one of her former Gryffindor roommates.

"Well, fancy seeing you here, Piper," Ginny laughed as she gave her old friend a hug.

Piper hugged her back tightly. "Well, I actually have a reason to be here, since I'm in the department; but, what's your excuse?"

"Well, my darling brother, whom you might also know as you thick ex-partner, couldn't make it... so, you know, protocol... he sent me instead," Ginny explained.

Piper gulped visibly at the mention on Ron but it onyl took her a second to regain her compusture; then, looked around and leaned into Ginny's ear. "Have you heard?" she asked.

Ginny raised her eyebrows and shrugged. "Heard what?"

"That a certain very, very, very VIP is coming tonight," the girl told her with a mischievous expression on her face.

Ginny laughed, looking around. "Piper, there's three Ministers in this room, the lead singer from the Weird Sisters is standing in that corner, having a drink with Crowdwalk, the most famous writer of the last ten years and, apart from two or three family members, everyone in this room has been in the paper at least once a month...how more VIP does it get?"

Piper looked at Ginny with the same expression as before and then discreetly pointed at the elevator door, which had just opened.

Ginny's mouth fell a tiny bit.

"Okay," she admitted. "So maybe _that_ does get a bit more VIP."

Piper laughed at the red-head, who was now looking at the latest guest. She had only really seen him once, at a match where she had flown near the royal box and he had been there with Federico of Bernanos, the king of Spain, who had attended Hogwarts as a Ravenclaw in Fred and George's year. That time was the only time she had seen him in flesh and blood but she, like every other British person, would recognise him immediately. Not only was he the future king of Britain, but he was also the only person known to survive the killing curse, using a protection granted to him by his paternal grandparents. The story was well known and heart warming, as was Albus Dumbledore's destruction of the tyrant, Voldemort, ten years ago, when he brought him back to life only to kill him once and for all. In that duel, the famous headmaster died, having been called crazy by half the world; nevertheless, he died with honour and respect.

The prince started greeting people and Ginny observed him with interest. He had always had a fringe that covered the famous lightning bolt scar, left behind by Voldemort, but Ginny had to admit that he looked taller now, more handsome, more manly...

She stood there thinking, almost missing the look that the prince gave her from the other side of the room. Ginny couldn't help the Weasley blush that flushed her face. Who hadn't ever dreamt of the prince? Who, when they were small, hadn't imagined themselves being the damsel in distress? It was all the fairy tales' fault, in Ginny's opinion.

Piper nudged her when the prince looked at her again.

"He's looked at you twice," Piper teased her.

Ginny hit her playfully on the back. "Hermione says he likes Quiddich, he probably recognises me."

Piper raised her eyebrows. "So the know-it-all is still working as a secretary?

Ginny frowned. "She's working as the royal protocol secretary...she works for all the royal family, identifies affairs, looks over things they have to sign, it's an important job."

Piper nodded in a careless sort of way and Ginny bit her lip, she knew that, for some reason, Piper had had a big crush on Ron in her Hogwarts years and also later on, when they had worked together for nearly three years; of course, Ron had only really ever had eyes for Hermione, even before he actually realized that he was head over arse in love with her.

"Good afternoon."

His voice was very clear and stable, not like on the wireless when he was doing the typical speeches. It was masculine but yet soft, and it had a sort of tune to it, but just from hearing those two words Ginny knew he wouldn't be able to sing to save his life.

Piper bowed slightly but Ginny didn't. She wasn't used to protocol; she had been brought up in a wild house, in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by six brothers, her mum had taught them manners but no protocol, she probably had not thought it would be necessary.

"I'm Harry James," the prince spoke kindly. Ginny turned to see what Piper would say now, but, to her surprise and shock, the blonde had disappeared.

Ginny turned back to the prince and gave him an awkward smile. He wasn't very tall, but Ginny had inherited her mum's height, and with flat shoes, like the ones she wore today, she looked positively tiny next to him.

"Ginevra Weasley."

Since she had said her name the only thing Harry could think about was how royal it sounded. He continued repeating it in his head once and again: _Ginevra, Ginevra, Ginevra_...He knew the name came from 'Guinevere', King Arthur of Albion's wife.

"I go by Ginny thought," she added a little shyly.

Harry smiled. "I know," he told her. "I'm a big fan. You're the best chaser I have ever seen... but don't tell my father I said that."

Ginny looked surprised. "The king was a chaser?"

"My father," Harry spoke, accentuating the words, trying to blow away the title of 'king'. "Was and still is a great chaser, he was taught by Julies Macronade himself."

Ginny looked even more stunned than before. "Macronade? He's the inventor of the Firebolt; he won the Best Chaser Award fifteen years consecutively. He played as a star until he was forty; he's the real legend. He was smart _and_ a great flyer!"

The prince laughed at how quickly the red-head had started talking at ease, it was truly fascinating.

"And you, who taught you?" she asked quickly, but as she realized how loud and insistent it had seem she went back to being slightly shy. "I mean, if you do play."

"Of course I play," Harry answered with a smug smile. "Not as much as I would like, mind you, and with many more security accentuations, but...oh, do I play... duelling and flying are my escape. But to my father's shame, I am a seeker, and a natural one... the first time I jumped on a broom was with the Ki... a friend of mine, and he threw me a Quaffle so I could try and score, but he threw it badly and it was going to end up on a tree top; but I caught it... so, you know... yeah, I'm a seeker."

And just like that they started to talk about Quiddich, all kinds. And then they spoke about music. And after that they spoke about schools and places.

* * *

><p>"I studied in the Costa del Sol; in the south of Spain... I went to the only Wizarding School there, Monteconcha. It's really amazing, it's in the middle of a huge valley just under this mountain top that they call 'La Concha', which means 'shell', and they call it like that because the top looks just like a shell, especially when it snows up there... which is pretty amazing because at ground level it's kind of warm, but up there it gets completely white. It's a beautiful place and Spanish people... well, they can be a little loud and impetuous, but they really grow on you, I really miss them...I always go back for a week or two in the holidays, if I can."<p>

Ginny looked up at him with admiration. "It just seems so special... another country... I mean, it was hard enough being away for so long, you know, I missed my parents so much and, if something bad happened, they'd be beside me in a second... I just, I don't know; it's hard to think about it."

The night continued with more and more words and both of them acting like they were the only guests at the party. It was so easy, Harry thought; talking to her was a simple as breathing. The continued enjoying their time together until the time to leave came upon them, as did another subject.

"You went to Hogwarts, right? You probably know my brother and sister..." Harry inquired, handing a beer to Ginny.

"Yes," Ginny admitted. "Your sister, specially, a very strong Gryffindor, so strong and brave that I was surprised by the news of her wedding... I thought she'd want to explore the world, be free before tying the knot. She just had a daughter, right?"

"Annabel," Harry spoke proudly, thinking about his lovely niece. "She's a treasure."

"But the Princess... well, Queen now... she's so young, don't you think? I mean, we all make mistakes, marriage is the one that is committed the most, but having a child so early... it seems like we're in another era... I understand we are talking about monarchies, they're so old, so traditional but yet, they are so stopped in time, are they not? Don't you agree?" Ginny voiced out her opinion, but Harry remained silent.

"Who do you think the Quiddich final will be against? I think your team is a shoes' in, for sure..." the prince changed the subject as quickly as he could.

However, Ginny wasn't one to be played around with; anyone who spent more than a day with her would know that.

"You didn't answer my question," she interrupted him, sounding slightly angry.

He looked at her hardly. "I'm not going to answer that to someone who has journalist friends, which I'm sure you have..."

Ginny's lips formed a straight line as she looked up at him. Yes, it was true, she did have journalist friends, Colin being the best example; however, it made her angry to think that she couldn't talk to someone about what she wanted to, it didn't seem fair.

She gave him a court smile as she left the full glass of champagne on the closest table and took a step to the right, with her back to the prince and searching for other familiar faces.

Harry sighed and grabbed the glass, walking towards her and putting it in her hand again.

She turned and looked at him with a strange expression on her face.

"You tell yourself," she began to say. "He's the prince, but treat him like any other guest...but, you can't, can you? It's impossible."

"Not impossible," Harry argued. "As long as you don't mention politics, it's not impossible."

"So you can't have an opinion?" she asked, how could he be king if he didn't have an opinion?

"Oh, I have an opinion," he told her. "Who doesn't? And, I _can_ have one, I just must not," he told her sincerely.

She looked at him for a second and then back down and her glass. The prince took the silence as his chance.

"Why don't we get out of here? We could have a drink someplace else..." Harry suggested, trying his luck.

Ginny looked up at him, but strangely enough, her face didn't show surprise, it showed a mixture between indifference and strength.

"What time is it?" her tone was indifferent, just like the expression on her face; Harry had the feeling that she was trying her hardest to sound like that.

He then looked at his watch, which had belonged to his great grandfather, King Thomas III, and then he looked back at Ginny.

"It's barely eleven," he told her, hope visible in her eyes.

She shook her head. "I can't," she told him. "I have to wake up early."

"What's early?" he asked casually.

She raised her eyebrows at his interest. "Six," she answered truthfully. "I go swimming, it helps my arms for the game and my back, I've never had the best back."

The prince sighed. "Then let me Apparate with you," he begged her. "To make sure you get home safe."

She shook her head again, but this time didn't say anything; she looked at him for a second.

"I really don't mind, once you get used to Apparating it really doesn't make a difference," the prince tried again but Ginny shook her head again.

"Do you live with your parents?" the prince insisted in asking. "Is that it?"

Ginny couldn't help the laugh that left her lips.

"Nope, I live in a tiny flat, eighty metres square, in the middle of London... I live alone," she confessed.

"Your flat fits in my bedroom," Harry commented, trying to make a funny joke, but he didn't really get there, it just made the moment a little more awkward. "But I live alone too," he added. "Still at the palace, it's the royal residence, but I live in a separate department."

There was a silence, but it wasn't uncomfortable, there was something to it that almost seemed special, safe.

"I'll probably regret this for a long time to come, but I have to go..." she finally spoke, looking up at the prince; she looked genuinely sad. "It's been a pleasure meeting you; it really has been a great evening..."

She put her hand out for him to shake, but instead he pressed his lips against her right cheek, a few second longer than necessary.

She pulled away politely and they shared one last look before she took a step back and headed towards the door.


	3. Chapter 2

_A/N: Hey! Exactly two weeks after the last update, like I promised! :D So, here comes some royal drama. The Hermione/Ron scene in the middle was just meant to be short and fluffy, but it kept on extending, however, I really enjoyed writing so I hope you enjoy reading it. _

_One more thing, some people are worried that the relationship in between Harry and Ginny might not be really realistic because she's divorced...But, I remind you, this is not a Muggle Monarchy, and, even if it was, The future queen of Spain was married to her high school teacher before becoming princess, so...you know, Monarchies have definately evolved. _

* * *

><p><strong>11 July 2005<strong>

Hermione handed the Queen another piece of paper. "And this is the owl from Dorothy McGraw, the Minister of Improper use of Magic."

"Have the King and the Prince already had their autumn schedules made?" Lily asked Hermione kindly.

The younger woman nodded. "Yes, it's going to be a busy season, especially when the Princess...I mean, Queen Elisabeth, comes home."

The Queen nodded absently and, before Hermione could leave, she pointed to the chair opposite her, inciting Hermione to sit down.

The bushy-haired girl sat down with care, and expectantly looked at the queen.

"Harry, the prince," the queen started. "He went to a party the other night..."

Hermione nodded. "Yes, your Majesty, at the Sports Minister's flat, in the Wizarding urbanisation situated in the centre of London."

The queen smiled. "A great man, Jerry Caporal is... he makes me and the King laugh so much, he and the Prince get on extremely well. Do you know him?"

"Yes," she responded with a smile. "I'm acquainted to him because of my husband; he works in the Sports department."

Hermione was a little embarrassed to be addressed like this by the Queen; Harry always treated her like an old friend, even if she always tried to keep to the protocol strictly, but the Queen, even if she _was _a very kind woman, normally did not ask about her personal life. Sadly, Hermione had an idea about why she might be asking today.

"Ronald Weasley, isn't it? A great family, they were a strong pillar of support in the fight against Voldemort, all those years ago," the Queen told her before inquiring something. "His sister, she was at the party too right?"

Hermione breathed in, taking as much strength as she could gather. "With all due respect, your Majesty, I know where this is going and I really would like to keep myself out of it; she's not only my sister-in-law, she's also been my best friend since I was thirteen."

Lily Potter nodded in understanding. "I understand the situation. But, could I get her full name? I'm sure you won't deny me that; you must understand, Hermione, it's my duty to look out for whom my son talks to; it's for his safety as much as it is for hers. I've been told they talked the whole night long."

Hermione was hesitant. "Her name is Ginevra Molly Weasley. But, your Majesty, they did not leave together," she informed the queen. "I haven't talked to Ginny, but I doubt they'll be seeing each other again. Ginny's concentrated on her career, men... well, she doesn't really think they're so important."

The Queen smiled, even if she was sure that this wasn't the last she would hear of this chaser, Potters _did _have a thing for red-heads, after all. Still, she decided to end the subject.

"Thank you, Hermione, I'm sorry I had to put you in this situation," she apologized to the young witch, who smiled in return.

"No worries, Queen Lily," she spoke quickly before leaving through the big oak door.

* * *

><p>"You'll never guess who asked me about your sister today," Hermione shouted as she walked into the medium-sized cottage, situated in a small urbanisation near Devon. It wasn't spectacular, just three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a spacious kitchen and a comfy living room which was usually filled with paper work from both inhabitants. However, the minute they had walked in, they had both loved it.<p>

Ron, who was in the kitchen, attempting to make some pasta, flicked his wand so that the food continued cooking and walked up to his wife, giving her a quick kiss on the forehead.

Hermione smiled as _she _flicked her wand and the heating on the food lowered and the smoke that was starting to form disappeared. "You're a disaster," she told her husband as she dropped her bag on the hanger and started turning the pasta around with a spoon.

"You love it," Ron told her as he started setting the table. The truth was, even with all their fighting and differences, they worked well together; they were a great team.

Hermione laughed as she watched him from the corner of her eye. "I love _you_, there's a very big difference."

Ron came up behind her and put his arms around her waist, putting his head on top of hers; it was times like this that he loved being so insanely tall.

"So," Ron started. "Who _did _ask you about my sister?"

"The Queen," Hermione scoffed. "She wanted to know more about her, her full name and such."

The red-head took a step back so that he could look at his wife properly. "And why would that be?" he asked her curiously, as he flicked his wand, as a knife began to chop vegetables up for the salad.

Hermione then remembered that she hadn't told Ron the rumours she had heard about the party.

"Well," Hermione said, turning the heating spell off and putting the pasta into two plates. "Remember Jerry's party? The one you didn't go to? "

"The one I pulled on Ginny? When Jerry suggested she'd enjoy it more than me?" Ron asked, confused.

Hermione raised her eyebrows a little at this new information but she nodded. Why would Jerry ask Ron to ask Ginny to go instead of him?

"So," Ron started again. "Was the VIP guest the Queen? Is that why she asked? She met Ginny?"

The bushy-haired woman tried to keep track of the question, but it proved difficult.

"Not exactly," she told him. "It seems the VIP guest was her son, Prince Harry Potter of Evans and Gryffindor. "

Ron sat down, putting the salad in the middle of the small table, as Hermione levitated the two plates into place.

"Didn't you tell me he was a fan of Ginny's? That he listened to her matches on the wireless? So, what? Did they talk?" Ron asked, wondering why the Queen was interested in his sister and the prince exchanging some words about quiddich.

Hermione nodded. "From what I've heard," she told me. "They talked all night long; Marcus Segredfield, the Press Minister, told me they almost left together."

Ron looked surprised and a little angry, but he seemed to get better after putting some spaghetti in his mouth. "'o wha'? 'e tinks' eir' gonna date or 'ometin'?"

"No, Ronald," Hermione scolded him. "She doesn't think they're gonna date or _anything; _but Harry's an important man and, just like any mother, she wants to look out for him."

"'orry," Ron said as he finished the mouthful of pasta. "But she doesn't need to be worried, I doubt Ginny will ever date seriously again, not after Thomas. I mean, I know she dates; like... you know, that stuff with Lee... but Ginny's sworn off men, even more if the man's a prince."

"That's what I told her Majesty," his wife let him know. "There's a lot of girls who could stand being Princess, Ginny is not one of them. I'm sure she just had a nice time and then blew him off in her typical Ginny fashion."

Ron laughed at the image. His sister really _was _a heart-breaker; the relationship with Dean had kept her off dating at school, but that hadn't stopped her from breaking hearts. Ron suddenly became a little confused as he remembered Jerry telling him that someone who was coming to the party wanted to meet Ginny... could it be...? Ron shook his head at himself that was ridiculous. He decided the best thing would be to change the subject.

"So," he looked towards Hermione, who was taking some salad. "Have you thought about it?"

The bushy-haired woman rolled her eyes. "Of course I have, just like yesterday, and before yesterday and the day before that... And I still think the same thing, Ron. We're both doing great in our jobs; in a few years I could start working at the top of the protocol department and from then on I'd be steady and that would be a great time...and you, you travel somewhere different every weekend, Ron, and you adore it. I want to have wonderful babies with you, Ronald Weasley; a little girl with red hair and a small boy with your blue eyes... but we're still young, we have all the time in the world to concentrate on the two of us and our jobs."

Ron frowned. "I know, you're right, you're always right. It's just, Percy and Bill, they look so happy with their kids, you know? Victoire is just precious, and Dominique, well, she's just... and they're already thinking about going for the boy. And Percy has the twins..."

Hermione laughed, he had such a paternal instinct that Hermione was sure, if he could, he would get pregnant. "Well, look at it this way, no matter how long we take, your other siblings won't beat us to it. Fred and George have been fighting over Angelina for over six years and that doesn't look like it's going to end soon, Charlie would most likely marry a dragon instead of a woman and Ginny, well, you know... I don't see Ginny having kids anytime soon."

"Well," Ron stood up and kissed her temple. "When you put it like that..."

* * *

><p><strong>25th September 2005<strong>

"I really don't know what I'm doing here!" Ginny shouted into Gwenog's ear.

The retired captain, and new coach of the Hollyhead Harpies, rolled her eyes. "Come on, Weasley, don't be a baby. You deserve this, we won the league!"

"I know," the red-head insisted. "But that's why we celebrated it in Wales! There was no need for them to give us a prize!"

"Correction," Gwenog interrupted. "To give _you _a prize, I'm just here as your plus 1, since you're the only one smart enough not to get a real boyfriend."

Ginny laughed, but the laughter died as she saw who was walking towards her.

The Prince of Wales Awards were held annually in Wales, and, as one could expect, they were hosted by no other than the Prince of Wales. It was _that_ that was putting Ginny off. It had been over two months ago, but she still couldn't get the party out of her head. She didn't know how many times she had regretted not leaving with him, only to scold herself for thinking like that seconds later.

The ceremony wasn't too long, and when she went on the stage to pick-up her prize, the Prince only conjured the small golden broom that was her prize, and levitated it into her hand as he smiled at her, he didn't even say a word. The funny thing was that, for a second, she actually felt disappointed. She should've known the disappointment wouldn't last.

"Congratulations," the familiar voice spoke quietly.

Ginny took about a second to turn around, ignoring Gwenog and setting her eyes on Harry.

"Thank you," she said with a smile.

"You deserve it," he told her sincerely. "You owned the league this year; I haven't missed a match on the wireless."

Ginny laughed slightly. "I hope that doesn't mean you put a word in for me, I like winning fair and square."

"Don't worry; you _did _win it fair and square. It's funny how we meet again, isn't it?" he asked her.

Ginny shrugged. "Well, you give out the prizes and I won one... It's logical."

Harry gave her a small smile. "I believe more in destiny than in logic, truth be told."

And, just as quickly as he arrived he was gone, off to talk to some minister.

It didn't take a second for Gwenog to start whispering in her ear.

"Well?" she asked the chaser, shocked.

Ginny rolled her eyes at her captain. "What?"

"What?" Gwen imitated her. "The Prince was totally flirting with you."

The younger woman blushed slightly but hid it well, "Don't be ridiculous, Gwen."

"Ridiculous?" she spoke out, eying the prince from a distance. "It's completely normal; he's a handsome man and you're a pretty girl... It could make a fun night..."

Ginny punched her playfully. Gwenog Jones wasn't known for being playful or the best friend kind of girl, but she was Ginny's mentor, the woman had been scouting Ginny since the girl's seventh year at Hogwarts, she loved her like a little sister.

"Besides," Gwen continued. "He's a lot more handsome in real life that in pictures. Those green eyes really strike you, don't they?"

Ginny shook her head at her friend. "Shut it, Gwen."

* * *

><p>The samba music was loud and the atmosphere was heavy, from the large amount of people that occupied that Muggle disco, but Ginny was having the time of her life, laughing with Gwen.<p>

"Oh, Merlin... look who's showed up," Gwenog whispered in her ear.

It didn't really come as a surprise when Ginny looked up and found the woman leaving and the Prince walking towards her. She turned around to glare at Gwen, but she had completely disappeared.

The Prince neared her and leaned down to whisper in her ear. "I suspended my portkey to London, but don't ask me why, I'm not good with words."

Ginny looked at him in slight shock and then laughed.

He raised his eyebrows. "What's so funny?"

Ginny shrugged. "People tend to think that you're shy," she let him know...

Harry gave her a big smile and leaned down so she could hear him better. "I _am_ shy," he told him truthfully. "And that's why I set myself challenges and tell myself I'm a coward if I turn away."

"Oh," she spoke with a knowing smile. "So, I'm a challenge?"

Harry ran a hand through his hair and cursed his election of words, he wanted to seem extroverted and easy-going, not shy and a mess.

"No, I didn't...Talking to you like this is a challenge," he explained. "Do you know what else is a challenge?"

Ginny shrugged again, asking the silent question. The prince responded quickly as he took her hands and led her to the centre of the dance floor.

"Dancing," he told her. "I can't dance to save my life."

Ginny laughed as she tried to get him to let go of her hand, she didn't want to dance with him; what if someone saw them? What then?

Yet, when she saw him _trying _to dance, twirling her around and making a fool out of himself, she couldn't stand not following him. She put his hands in his and twirled around various times, holding him close, moving her body in time with his. It only took them two second to get into the rhythm and end up out of breath.

"I'm," Ginny started, "I'm going to get a glass of something."

"I'll go with you," Harry told her, he was desperate for her to not get away this time; he didn't know why, but he really liked this girl.

Ginny laughed. "I need to go to the bathroom too," she warned him. "And I need to talk to my friend. Don't worry; I'll be back in a second."

* * *

><p>"Oh, Godric... Gwen, what should I do?" Ginny asked as she took a sip of her drink.<p>

Gwen looked at her like it was completely obvious. "Enjoy the rest of the night; it'll be a great tale for the parties. I'm sure your mum would flip out! Come on, what are you even asking _me _for?"

"Because _this_ is a little weird, Gwenog!" the red-head shouted.

"Weird?" Gwenog shrugged. "I've told you once, but I'll tell you again. He's a handsome man, you're a pretty girl, and you both look like you could use some fun."

Ginny opened her mouth to protest, but her captain shut her up.

"Listen, Weasley, I'm not telling you to marry the guy; scratch that; I'm telling you _not _to have anything serious with him. However," she continued with a lighter tone, "you're a mess, Flash; you need a good shag and this is as exciting as it's gonna get; so, go on, enjoy your time with your Prince Charming and stop over-thinking things... it doesn't suit you."

Ginny laughed as she hit her friend playfully. She then made a move to leave, but not before warning Gwenog.

"If you ever tell anyone about this, I _will _tell Wood who the secret admirer was... don't doubt it for a second!" Gwen laughed as she shook her head as the younger girl left.

Harry was standing still, waiting for Ginny to emerge from the bathroom, when one of his body guards came up to him.

"Someone's tipped off the press, your Highness; Rita Skeeter is on her way..." the man informed him.

The prince cursed as he saw Ginny coming into the large disco room. The red-head caught hang of the problematic atmosphere almost immediately.

"Is anything wrong, your Highness?" she asked politely and slightly worried.

Harry ran a hand through his messy head, but smiled at Ginny. "It's Harry, not _your anything_..." he reprimanded her calmly. "And Harry," he spoke in the third person with a laugh, "has to get back to London?"

Ginny raised her eyebrows. "Is there a problem?"

Harry sighed. "A huge problem," he told her. "You see, I'm not going to be able to spend the rest of the night with you."

Ginny was about to ask more, but she realized that maybe it wasn't the best idea; she looked at the prince for a moment and shrugged with a sad smile.

"Goodbye," he told her, and then, after a few moments of hesitation about how to see her off, he leaned down and pressed his lips to her cheek sweetly.

By the time Ginny had reacted to the farewell, Harry James Potter was nowhere to be seen.

* * *

><p><em>So...Liked it? Like where it's going? The Next chapter should be up in about two weeks...though, I think ti's gonna take me some time to write after watching the last HP movie, can you believe it's ending? I'm going to cry my eyes out, specially with the Snape scenes and the epilogue :`( But, I'm sure it'll be great :)<em>

**_So, you know, review, tell me what you thought, and I'll send you the preview for the next chapter :D_**


	4. Chapter 3

**2nd October 2005**

"Victoire, calmez-vous, sil-te-plait!" Fleur scolded her hyper-active daughter for poking her younger sister. The gingery-blond five-year-old, surprisingly, listened to her mother and stopped poking Dominique; however, it only took her only about five seconds to take the little girl's favourite doll, which caused the three-year-old to start crying even harder.

Ginny, who had just come in through the door, laughed at the sight and waved at the family before bending down on her knees and capturing Victoire's full attention, making it possible for Fleur to take the doll and give it back to her youngest daughter.

"Did you bring me the poster, aunt Ginny? Did you?" the little girl asked anxiously as she held on to her favourite aunt's neck.

Ginny bit on her lip playfully, causing Victoire to frown and look down at the floor; it almost looked like she was deciding whether throwing a tantrum would get her anywhere.

Ginny laughed and softly pushed her god-daughter's chin upwards, so she could look at her deep blue eyes.

"When have I ever broken a promise, Vic?" Ginny asked the girl, making Fleur glare at the use of the nickname.

Victoire's frown started becoming a smile as she opened her mouth. "Never!" she shouted in her young high-pitched voice.

"So..." Ginny laughed, pulling her wand out. "Accio Poster!"

The rolled up poster came in through the front door, hitting Ron on the head several times before planting itself in front of the excited girl, who unrolled it in less than a second.

The poster featured all the harpies, with Gwenog standing in the middle and Ginny to her side, both of them sporting big smiles and the league trophy on their shoulders. Ginny had even got all the Harpies to sign the poster before granting it to her niece, who had been begging for it since she saw the league final, almost two months ago.

Ginny looked up and found everyone looking at her with smiles; yet, the smiles were bittersweet, for all of them held a hidden thought behind them, all of them knew that, as good as Ginny was with kids, she'd probably never have one of her own.

Ginny was perfectly aware of the hidden thought, but she only smiled back; luckily, she had never been a woman who accepted pity, she fought against it and, in her opinion, ignorance was one of the best weapons.

"So, Gin, what were the Prince of Wales awards like? They're held close to a Muggle town, are they not?" Arthur Weasley asked his daughter joyfully.

Ginny couldn't help but smile at her dad's devotion towards anything that was Muggle, even if he could never wrap his mind around the mechanism of Muggle life. The red-headed young woman laughed and sat beside her father, taking his arms around her.

"Yes, dad, Gwenog and I actually slept at one of the small motels that the town had, there was a television set and a radio..."

Mr Weasley's eyes glistened as Ginny spoke about the programs on the TV, and Molly rolled her eyes at the pair.

"And, did you meet anyone nice, dear? Maybe one of those handsome writers that are always prized, or those Aurors that are awarded prizes for their courageous battles..." Molly tried to get any information regarding possible suitors.

Ginny shook her head at her mother; every single Sunday they shared the family brunch, and every single Sunday, without exception, her mother would relentlessly ask her about the men in her life. The whole deal with Dean had not only been hard on Ginny, but on her whole family, but Ginny had never quite understood why it was so hard on them. For Ginny, it had been a wake-up call, she had never even looked at anyone who wasn't Dean, he had been with her forever and, when he had proposed, after one of the worst fights she had ever had with her mother, she had agreed out of anger. It would probably always be one of her biggest regrets, but she knew it was a part of who she was, it had helped her grow up and learn that things are meant to be thought through.

Ron laughed at Molly's insistence. "Who knows, Mum, maybe she met the prince him-" But Ron's words were cut short by a painful sound, most probably caused by Hermione's leg, underneath the table.

"Oh! Did you, dear? Meet the prince?" Molly asked enthusiastically.

Ginny gulped slightly, "Yeah, I mean...well, you know, I greeted him, he congratulated me...the typical..."

"Do you here that, George?" Fred asked. "The typical...what's that supposed to mean? Is it a code for...?"

"He looked at me once and I was startled by his beauty? Would that be it, Gin-Gin?" George finished the sentence, laughing at his sister.

Ginny wanted to be mad at them, but she couldn't; lately, the relationship between George and Fred was getting more and more strained and it was rare for them to be involved in a moment of complicity; Ginny hated the situation, specially because she couldn't be mad at Angelina, the Falmouth Falcons chaser, who had time and again tried to get away from the twins, not wanting to get in the middle. Ginny wasn't sure about the dynamics of the situation; truth to be told, she didn't know a thing about the reasons that had lead both Weasley boys to fall in love with the same witch, but what she did know, was that Angelina was not at fault here.

"So, Gin, seriously? Is he like they describe him in the papers?" the eldest Weasley brother asked with a smile, a smile that Ginny returned.

After thinking for a second she shook her head. "No, honestly, he seems even nicer."

* * *

><p>The clicking sound of the queen's high-heels alerted the king that he would soon have company at the dining table. He dropped the paper for a second and looked around him, sad to find that the kids had really grown up. When they were children, Sunday Brunch was a must for the Royal Family, they would always sit around and, for once, talk about utter nonsense.<p>

Then, Harry had gone to Spain and, soon after, Elizabeth and Max had gone to Hogwarts; before he knew it, his son was the Crown Prince and his daughter had made him a grandfather, a very young grandfather, at that, but a grandfather nevertheless.

"I'm worried, James," Lily's voice brought him out of his thoughts, making him laugh.

"Well, that's new!" James II spoke sarcastically as his wife sat down and picked a piece of toast.

Lily glared at him. "I'm serious, James..." she spoke with a sombre attitude. "I think Harry might be seeing someone," the queen said quietly, as if trying to keep a secret.

James frowned at his wife. "Lily, your son has been seeing someone since he was old enough to figure out that girls didn't have cooties. Who is it this time? An auror? A barmaid? Let me guess, an actress? That's the only one out of the expressive arts that he hasn't tried..."

Lily bent over slightly and hit James around the head.

"It's the Quiddich Player, the one that I told you about early in the summer...the one who Hermione's related to?" the queen tried to refresh his memory.

The king sighed, not really knowing who she was talking about, but knowing that claiming that would only give him problems; he looked up at his wife. "And what is so weird about him seeing her?"

"Nothing, really... just the fact that she blew him off, and now he's more interested than ever...he followed her around after the awards, Rita Skeeter nearly caught them together..." Lily tried to explain.

James shrugged. "Is she a beautiful girl?"

Lilly nodded. "Very beautiful... She has red hair..."

"Oh..." James whispered, now realizing who they had been talking about,; he was quite a fan of the Holyhead Harpies' chaser himself... Ginny Weasley was one hell of a Quiddich Player.

"Yeah, Potters and redheads..." Lily muttered and James laughed slightly. "I've heard a few things, people talk so well about her; I'm just scared he'll fall for her and then the story will repeat itself once again; Harry is definitely not lucky in the relationship department."

James shook his head. "Don't worry about that, Lily; Harry has eyes and a good taste in women; he gets that from me," the king joked as he eyed his wife with a smile. "I'm sure it's no more than a friendship, though; you have to admit that you love exaggerating. Besides, there's more important matters at hand..."

Lily raised her eyebrows. "What matters?"

The king's shoulders dropped and he frowned as he passed the Daily Prophet to his wife.

"There has been a boat accident at the port of Medway... it was an inter-magical boat and a normal Muggle one, they crashed with each other and into the actual port structure," James explained. "The Aurors are already there, Obliviating all the muggles who saw magical creatures; all the wards around the magical part of the port have disappeared too, so there's also people helping with that.

Lily took a hand up to her mouth and looked at her husband sadly.

* * *

><p><strong>7th October 2005<strong>

"We have been here for over 5 days since the accident and there still is a lot to be fixed. We find that there were over forty Muggles killed by the initial explosion, and there has been a massive loss of magical plants that were being shipped off to the African magical communities..."

"These kinds of things don't happen in Norway," Maximilian Potter announced to his mother as they both sat on one of the big red sofas, listening to the Wireless.

Lily turned to look at her son and tried to discover why the boy had such love for Norway, whereas Harry could barely spend more than two weeks there.

"These kinds of things happen everywhere, Max; maybe in Norway there won't be any _magical _boats crashing into shores, since there is no _magical _population living there, but there still are plenty of tragic accidents.

Max brushed her off. "Maybe, but they keep them more controlled."

The queen sighed in exasperation at her son's behaviour. "I might remind you that you are second in line to the throne of _England_, so you might want to limit your time in Norway and try and be more passionate about your _own _country."

"Don't kid yourself, Mum, I doubt I'll ever have to take the throne of England; Harry probably has a few bastard children lying around and, in any case, Federico and Liz can form a double kingdom..." Max spoke out loud, gaining a smack on the head.

"That," Lily told him, "Is for the joke about your brother, who is one of the most honourable man in the whole of England... and don't let me hear you talking about the throne like that again... If something were to happen to your brother, Federico and Elizabeth wouldn't just form a double _empire_... Look, Max, I know you're not a fan of magic; I know you didn't really enjoy your time at Hogwarts, but I'm sure, with time, you'll learn to embrace your magical origins. You're only eighteen, after all."

"Yeah, I guess," Max told her. He then diverted the attention back to the Wireless. "Hey! They're talking about Harry!"

"He's been here since Monday and has not stopped working for a second; the Prince of Wales has showed us all his great preoccupation with the health of the country and his love for his people. Accompanying him are also famous Aurors like Nymphadora Tonks-Lupin, wife of the Magical-Creatures Minister, Remus Lupin, who is also lending a helping hand. Help is also being handed over by Quiddich Stars, such as Oliver Wood, Katie Bell, and the recently awarded best chaser of the league, Ginevra Weasley..."

"Harry must be _really _happy, then..." Max commented with a laugh.

Lily eyed him carefully for a second. "And why is that, Max?"

It didn't take long for the young man to realize he had spoken a little too much. "T-Tonks..." he spoke undecidedly. "And Remus, of course...he must be glad to be spending some time with them."

The lies, of course, were of no use, since Lily Potter could see perfectly through her children's charades. "So... tell me what you know, Max? Is he dating her?"

Max sighed. "Don't you think you should ask _him_ that, Mum?" he asked her.

Lily raised her eyebrows. "Ask your brother something about his personal life? He's more likely to speak to Rita Skeeter before speaking to me or your dad...Come on, Max, just tell me what you know and I'll let it be."

Max shrugged. "There's not much to tell Mum; he likes her, but he's only seen her twice and he's worried that he might complicate her life if he continues seeking her, so, you know, he says he's going to let _destiny _take its course... Seriously, Harry's such a girl sometimes..."

Lily nodded, but the curiosity was still as present as ever.

* * *

><p>"We meet again."<p>

Ginny knew it was only a matter of time before the Prince spoke to her again, but she, truthfully, wasn't completely prepared for the new meeting. The last encounter had left her a little angry and confused; she had been willing to be with him, even if only for a few hours, and then he'd disappeared, without so much as an address.

"Yeah," Ginny answered without looking at him, trying to concentrate on the planks of wood that she was restoring.

"I've been meaning to apologize for my leaving at Wales, but I didn't have your address and I was scared an owl would get lost if I only put your name..." he told her.

Ginny bit her lip as she let the plank fall gently into place; then she turned and looked at him for a moment. "You're right, an owl would have got lost...we Quidditch players have to protect our privacy, but I would have thought that you wouldn't have trouble getting a hold of a simple address."

The prince ran a hand through his hair. "Do I sense a little anger?" he asked her smugly.

"Try a bit more than a little," she told him, levitating another piece of wood.

The prince was slightly shocked at such an informal contestation, but didn't let it get in the way. "I said I was sorry..."

Ginny looked up at him. "Don't worry, you're forgiven... I'm afraid I can't hold grudges, one of the results of having six brothers; if you hold grudges, they ruin your life..."

"Six?" he asked, surprised. "That's a lot of brothers... Mind telling me a bit about them?"

Ginny eyed him for a second and laughed. "Well, in three hours I'll be apparating back to London, so it might have to be a quick summary and you might have to help me with this work in return."

Harry immediately took his wand out and began levitating planks of wood. "Well, then, let's get going, there's only so much you can do in three hours..."

Ginny really couldn't help but smile.

* * *

><p><strong>8th October 2005<strong>

"You Majesty, you know I work to serve you and the rest of the Royal Family, but I really think this is not necessary," Hermione tried to make clear as she held on to the file that the queen had asked for.

Lily looked at Hermione sadly. "Hermione, I trust my son's common sense, but I am sure you understand that I need to know about this girl! Harry is, let's say... _smitten... _with your sister-in-law and I need to know what we could be up against. Give me the file, please," she asked nicely.

Hermione sighed as she handed over the file hesitantly. Before opening it, the queen turned to look at Hermione with a sympathetic smile.

"Being a mother is hard, Hermione, being the mother of the future king is even harder... I love my son. I don't mean to be nosy or disrespectful; I just want to know if there's anything I should worry about."

Just like that, the queen opened the file, where a photo of Ginny in her Harpies' uniform was visible; the queen pushed it to a side and started reading out loud.

"Hogwarts, nine OWLs, seven NEWTs, 24-years-old, Divorced..." the queen stopped reading silently. "Divorced?" she exclaimed. "She's been married?"

Hermione looked down at her feet. "Yes, your Majesty, to her Hogwarts sweetheart, but it wasn't a magical ceremony and there was no bond made, they... well, they eloped when they were younger and they... well, they ended up regretting it, they almost got an annulment, but they had some troubles with the Muggle law and decided a divorce would just be easier..."

The young witch hated giving out personal details and she felt like she was back-stabbing Ginny, but the details she was giving were only meant to soften the blow, to make the queen understand the reasons and make Ginny look more like someone who made a mistake and not someone who just got bored of being married.

When Ginny married Dean, it had been out of anger, anger towards her mother, who didn't approve of her career; anger towards her brothers, who didn't approve of Dean, and even anger towards herself, for not being strong enough to convince them all that they had no say in her life. When the marriage dissolved, Molly had been upset, but, instead of arguing with her, they had comforted her and realized that they needed to support her instead of trying to control her. Ginny always joked that she had only married Dean so that her family would realize the faults in their ways.

"There's not need to explain, Hermione," the queen made her know. "Young people make mistakes that wise them up, but, either way, this means the king was right... it's no more than a friendship..."

The queen smiled as she left her office. She seemed content, like she knew her son would back away once he knew the truth; Hermione, however, had the feeling that the prince had always known the truth and it had never interfered in his plans to pursue Ginny.

* * *

><p><em>AN: Yes, I know the chapters are really short, but, you know, it's that kind of story...it'll have aprox. 15 chapters only because it'll only centre around the courtship... either way, next chapter finally comes some** fighting** ... and well, if you want to know more, review and I'll send you a preview :D (BTW: If you haven't received a preview in the first few chapters, it must be because you don't have you PM enabled and the site wouldn't let me send them or because you didn't leave a signed review) :D_


	5. Chapter 4

**20th December 2005**

"I'm telling you," Lee Jordan spoke over the voices of his co-workers. "We were lucky this year, but we need a better seeker if we want to have an opportunity against the wasps next year."

Victoria Clarence, one of the few Harpies whose name or surname did not start by 'G', glared at Lee as she poured herself a glass of fire whiskey. "You have no idea what you're talking about, Lee, Gina is only out of school and she's been doing a great job!" the blond argued.

Lee rolled his eyes. "I'm not saying that she's not good, Vic...I'm just saying that we got real lucky this year, we risked it with Gina and in the end it turned out ok, but if we want to continue at the top next year, it might be a good idea to find someone a little better..."

Gwenog shook her head as she fed herself a cauldron cake. "You see!" she exclaimed, pointing at Lee. "That's exactly why the Harpies don't allow male players!"

The three males at the table protested eagerly.

"What do you mean by that, Gwen?" Steve, the Harpies' publicist, asked in his most serious voice.

Gwen swallowed the cake and took a shot of her butterscotch. "Oh, come on, Steve...you men are so temperamental! Besides, you can't think out of the box, you're always concentrated on numbers...Lee's proving it right now, all the men in the opening meeting of the year voted against Gina's contract, but all the women voted for it...in the end she did a great job, we won the league!"

The men huffed, but didn't speak any more; they all knew there was no fighting against Gwen.

"What about you, Flash?" Kayla Grisance asked. "Better with men or no men?"

Ginny looked up from her dragon eggs and smiled at the blond. "I don't know..." she replied truthfully. "We're always inferior in strength, and if we had male beaters, _that _could be fixed, but you and Gwenog make up for it in speed and agility so..."

Victoria shook her head at Ginny. "You're amazing, Gin," she told the red-head. "Is there any moment of the day when you're not thinking about Quidditch?"

Ginny shrugged and smiled half-heartedly. Of course there were moments when she didn't think about Quidditch, but, right now, they were talking about Quidditch, were they not? Yet, it was true that they had decided against letting Quidditch dominate the conversation tonight, since they had met up to celebrate an early Christmas party with some of the Harpies' players and staff.

"Nah, there isn't..." a deep voice answered for Ginny, making the red-head turn around, ready to glare at her ex.

"Really, Lee?" Kayla spoke, ready to tease. "You know...maybe you two should get back together... that might take her mind off Quidditch for a bit."

"Yeah, Jordan," Gwenog joked playfully. "I've been saying that Ginny needs to take her mind off things for a while."

Ginny turned to her left and glared at Gwen, although, at the same time, she thanked her for putting 'needs to shag' into polite and less vulgar words.

"What do you say, Lee?" Marcus spoke up. "You up for it?"

Ginny looked at the financial director of the club with disbelieving eyes; however, she was even more shocked by Lee's following words.

"I'm always up for second chances..." the dark-skinned man exposed seductively.

Ginny gulped slightly and looked down at her food, acknowledging Gwen's permanent stare.

"I think," Gwenog spoke up. "That right now there's someone else on Ginny's mind..."

The red-head looked up at Gwen with fierce eyes. How dare she bring Harry into this? She had promised she would never mention it, had she not? Now the rest of the group would start asking questions, question that she could never answer.

"Really?" Kayla asked enthusiastically. "I didn't know you were seeing anyone, Flash!"

Ginny looked down at her food once again and bit her lip angrily; she didn't want to lash out on her friends. "I'm not-I'm not seeing anyone at all..."

"Ah...come in, Gin, are you seriously seeing someone and you haven't told us?" Marcus asked, looking surprised.

Lee looked like he'd rather be in any other place, rather than there.

"It must be someone we all know!" Victoria exclaimed. "Is it a fellow Quidditch-player?" she asked curiously. "It's not Oliver, is it? I heard he broke up with Katie a few months back!"

Ginny was about to answer when she was interrupted again.

"It's got to be someone we'd recognise," Gabby deduced. "Someone famous! If not she'd tell us, right?"

Ginny stood up from her seat, scowling at all of them.

"I've told you, it's no one at all...I don't understand why Gwen brought that up, but I'll go outside until you get bored of the topic..."

Gwenog looked at Ginny go out into the balcony and mentally hit herself. Ginny was like her kid sister and she should've known better than to bring up the prince topic; it was obvious that it was truly bothering Ginny.

* * *

><p><strong>"It<strong> was all a joke, Gin, you shouldn't get angry," Gwen tried to apologize to the girl in the only way she knew. Yet, Ginny still looked angry.

"Well, I didn't find it _funny_, Gwenog," Ginny told her angrily, looking at the beautiful view of Holyhead that could be seen from Gwen's balcony. She hated being angry with her friends, she hated always being on edge, but, for a while, she hadn't been able to help it.

Gwenog sighed. "You know what I'm like, Weasley... I talk before I think, I really didn't mean to get you all worked up..."

Ginny was about to answer back angrily, she wanted to tell Gwen she _wasn't _all worked up, but she knew that was a lie. "I'm sorry too," Ginny answered awkwardly. "I'm...I'm on edge and I...bringing Ha-the prince up really wasn't a good idea."

"That's because it's a loose thread. It's like you won the lottery but you lost the ticket..." Gwenog told her, surprising both Ginny and herself with the wise words.

The younger woman turned around, leaning her back on the metal railing and looking down at the simple green dress that rested perfectly on her every curve and stopped mid-thigh, showing off a tasteful but outstanding amount of her milky legs.

"There's nothing," Ginny confessed. "Nothing at all... we've only seen each other three times but, I... I just can't get it out of my head. I've been busy these past few months, what with my sister-in-law pregnant for the third time and playing referee for my bloody twin brothers, _and_ all the Quidditch practices... but my mind still finds a way to go back to that first night...And, it just gets me angry, you know? Because...I'm just not like that, Gwen! I'm not that girl who waits for an owl that's not going to come! I'm just really not that girl, I never have been."

"When was the last time you saw him?" Gwen asked seriously.

Ginny ran a hand though her voluminous hair. "October... we saw each other at the boating accident, remember? Talked for three hours straight and, I don't know... I really expected him to send an owl or something, you know? I-I just, it seemed like he really liked me, but then, he doesn't give a... It's ridiculous," Ginny told Gwen. "He's been a git to me and maybe it's even better that way, but I can't keep it out of my head."

"I think it probably_ is _better this way, Ginny," Gwen confessed. "He seems to be toying with you and, even if he wasn't, what future could a relationship with him have?"

"No future what-so-ever." Ginny spoke clearly and without any hesitation. She knew that any real relationship with Harry was completely impossible, she wasn't only a commoner, she had one of the worst track-records that existed, but it wasn't like she wanted to marry the guy!She just wanted to talk to him again, to find out why he kept on appearing and disappearing like that.

Gwen smiled sympathetically and looked at the girl. "We're going to London," she told her. "There's this magical disco thing that they've built close to Diagon Alley and they're opening tonight... Marcus says they'll let us in..."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "What about the crazy fan-boys, do you really want to have to stand a bunch of idiots trying to touch your arse all night?"

Gwen laughed. "You know I love it..." she joked as she winked at her close friend. "But, no... Really... it's the opening night so they won't be letting normal people in, only VIPs like us!"

Ginny laughed, yet, as she picked up her bag and made her way to the apparating platform, she realized she had a strange feeling about tonight.

* * *

><p><strong>The<strong> heat of the place was getting to her.

The various Quidditch players and Harpies' staff were standing in a line, ready to give in their coats but Ginny was feeling less like it by the minute. The music was too high and one of her least favourite Wizarding bands was playing, she had never really enjoyed the hard rock that the Merlins played; besides, she was getting fed up of all the guys who continued eying her up and down as if she was a piece of meat and, consequently, she was also pretty annoyed and Lee's hand, which would make its way onto her hip every time one of those pigs looked at her her.

"I think I'm gonna leave," she announced to the group, gaining many sounds of protest.

"Oh, come on, Ginny! Have you seen how many people there are here, it's gonna be great!" Greta, the only American from the group, told her enthusiastically.

Ginny shook her head. "No, seriously, my flat is only a few blocks away and... I don't feel like this tonight..."

She smiled at Gwen, in a silent farewell, and started making her way out of the group.

"Gin, seriously!" Lee exclaimed, putting a hand on the girl's shoulder, once again making her roll her eyes at the touch. "Really, where's the Gred and Forge in you?"

Ginny forced a half-hearted laugh, but still continued making her way out; however, she only managed to walk a few steps when a crowd of five Aurors made their way in. It didn't take Ginny a second to see who they were accompanying.

He looked amazing, Ginny had to admit it. His hair was windswept, messy like all the times she'd seen him, and there were some snowflakes resting in it, snowflakes that could only be seen because of the deep contrast between the pure white and the darkness of the black hair. His skin was white, like that of any true Englishman, but, somehow, the look suited him as it made his startling green eyes spark behind those thin glasses all the more; a content smile was playing on his lips as he talked to one of his Aurors. Like everyone else in the club, he wasn't wearing the typical wizard attire, having decided on a pair of black jeans and a blue button-up shirt that brought out his thin but muscular figure.

For a second Ginny stood still and, somehow, without much thought, she took two steps in the direction which the prince was heading to. Lee was looking at her with wide eyes, wondering what had gotten into his ex-girlfriend.

The red-head woman, who was in some sort of trance after seeing the young man, came back to her senses when she saw Harry leaning in to greet a beautiful blond woman that she recognised as Catalina Black, the daughter of one of the most prestigious aurors, Sirius Black. If Ginny had not been so shocked by the jealousy that had suddenly corrupted her, she would have remembered that Harry had told her about the Black family and how close he was to them. But she didn't remember that and her first instinct was to run.

"Hey," Lee spoke behind her, putting his arms around her, trying to get her to turn around and leave the pub. "Come on," he pulled her sweetly, managing to make her face the entrance door and leading her outside.

Still, as they took a step, Ginny's name was called out.

"Ginny!" The prince's unmistakable voice resounded through the entrance hall, making its way to Ginny's ears. The girl in question released herself from Lee's grip and walked up the stairs where the prince had made his way. She was aware that all the Harpies had their eyes firmly planted on her, but, at that moment, she didn't care.

"Hey," she spoke softly, almost too softly to be heard on top of the loud music.

Harry looked at her with a half-smile that somehow reached his eyes more than a huge one, he was looking at her like she was some sort of angel, arriving at the perfect moment. Surprising her, he leaned down and planted his lips on her cheek, like he'd done in their previous farewells.

"You look amazing," he complimented her, making the red-head blush and compliment him back. "How have you been?" he asked, leaning in to her ear, making sure she would hear him.

For some reason, she responded truthfully. "Confused..." she confused, not exactly sure about why she would ever choose that choice of words. The prince looked at her like she had grown a second head so she decided to specify. "I thought I'd see you again, I guess."

Harry's smile grew and his eyes seemed to glisten. "You have," he told her. "Aren't we here?"

Ginny laughed at his forced cheek, each time she met him she realized that he really _was _shy; he simply tried to hide it to seem more confident.

"Yes, we are... I'm here with a few friends from work... Harpies' players and some staff," she let him know with a smile, looking over at her group of friends, who quickly diverted their attention elsewhere.

"Thought the Harpies only allowed females," Harry spoke up curiously, but with a hint of something else in his voice. Ginny was surprised at how he was eying up Lee, as if looking for something.

However, Ginny continued smiling. "We only allow female _players_," she let him know. "The guys are part of the staff... the bald one is our publicist, Steve, and the one with the glasses is Marcus, our financial director... the tall dark-skinned one is-"

Strangely, it wasn't Ginny who finished the sentence, it was Harry.

"Lee Jordan," the prince announced in a knowing voice. "I know who he is," he told her in a smug tone that Ginny didn't like one bit. "He's a little more than a friend, though, isn't he?"

The smile completely dropped off Ginny's face and her eyes became fierce; those who knew her could see the Weasley temper rising.

"Excuse me?" she spoke in her best serious and defying tone. Had he just implied that he had been spying on her? Looking up things about her personal life behind her back?

"I know things," he continued telling her in that smug tone that made Ginny want to Bat-bogey him into tomorrow.

Ginny gulped and pushed her hair back, out of her face; she would have to make an effort so as to not lose her temper. "Well, I suggest you fire whoever is _telling_ you these things, because they are not doing a great job of it."

"So you're not seeing him?" Harry asked hopefully, and if Ginny had been less angry, she would have laughed at the tone of his voice. Nevertheless, Ginny _was _angry; how dare he stick his nose into her business? She already had 6 brothers for that, she didn't need another one!

"No," she confessed in the last moment, as she had been about to say yes and just finish whatever was going on between the two of them; still, something made her retaliate. "There _was _something a while ago, but that's in the past. Though, I'm not really sure why I'd have to give you any explanations, truth to be told..."

Harry shrugged defiantly and looked elsewhere, almost ignoring the red-head, acting like he really didn't care.

"Is it me," Ginny began as she started to lose control of her infamous temper. "Or are you playing cat and mouse with me? Whenever I'm really out, you're always there... charming and... I don't know, I really don't know what this is about but I'd rather you give it up and just came and told me what you really want so we can get it over with."

Harry crossed his arms and looked at her with disdain; Ginny's hand was nearing her wand more every second. "I really don't think it's appropriate for you to talk to me like that," Harry spoke with authority, making Ginny's blood boil.

"Well," Ginny all but shouted at him. "I don't think it's appropriate for you to butt your nose in my personal business. I'm sorry if I don't just bow and smile at you, but if you want my respect, earn it! And next time you want to know something about my life, ask _me _about it!"

Harry gulped for a second but decided to stay strong, something he would later on regret. "Don't worry, Miss Weasley, I have no questions..."

And, just like that, without so much as a second glance, he walked up the stairs and disappeared from sight, leaving Ginny, once again, behind.

* * *

><p><strong>"You're<strong> late," a voice was heard from inside the living room.

Ginny jumped and reached for her wand as quickly as she possibly could, but all attack left her mind as the lights went up and she saw Hermione in her fluffy pink pyjamas, resting on Ginny's couch with a big blanket covering her.

The red-head looked at her sister-in-law with wide eyes, but, while recovering from the shock, didn't say a thing.

"You look nice, by the way," Hermione let her know with a weak smile. "Were you out with the Harpies?"

Ginny was still looking at Hermione like she had gone mental but she was able to regain her composure soon enough. "What in Merlin's saggy pants are you doing here, Hermione?"

Hermione gave the girl an apologetic look. "Your brother's an idiot," she let her know, moving to the left of the couch, leaving some room for Ginny to sit beside her. The younger woman rolled her eyes and sat beside the married one. Now, looking at Hermione attentively, she could see that her eyes were red, as was her nose, and she had left various tissues on the side table; Ginny, however, was plenty used to this. During their years at Hogwarts, Ginny had always helped Hermione and Ron maintain a peaceful relationship, she had played referee in their shouting matches and made them see eye to eye when they were too stubborn to do it themselves; now, they were both older and they had learnt to deal with their fight in other ways, other way that Ginny would rather never have to think about; however, every once in a while, they would step too far and one of them would Floo over to the Harpies' boarding facilities, where Ginny would talk to them and send them back home to solve stuff. Now, of course, Ginny was in London and, when they really started going at each other, one of them would just spend the night at Ginny's and, by the time they got back home, they missed each other too much to care about the fight.

"Come again, Hermione?" the red-head teased her friend, gaining a playful smack on the arm.

"You heard me all right," Hermione reproached. "He's the most stupid, intolerant, ridiculous wizard that there's ever existed."

Ginny shook her head at the older girl. "Well," she started, "you can't blame me for not warning you! On your wedding day, didn't I explain very clearly that he was all those things and even worse?"

Hermione couldn't help the laugh that escaped her lips.

"And, then... you went and told me," she continued, getting ready to do her best impersonation of Hermione, "_But, Ginny, that's just it! That's why I lurrrve him!"_

Hermione threw a pillow at her best friend. "I do _not _sound like that, Ginny."

"Do too," Ginny smiled, glad to have made Hermione laugh and brought her own spirits up in the process. However, it only took a few seconds for Hermione to go back to her saddened state; Ginny's mood followed. "Oh, come on, Hermione... what is it that my dear brother did this time?"

A tear escaped Hermione's eye. "It's about the kid thing, Ginny... yesterday we had Victoire and Dominique over because Fleur was going to the medi-witch and tonight he just started going on about really wanting a baby and then, I don't know, one thing led to another and, before I knew it, we were arguing about being a house-wife and not working at all and I got angry and, well, I don't know, I lost it a little..."

Ginny moved closer to Hermione's part of the sofa and put her arm attentively around her. "You're only 26, Hermione," Ginny told her. "I'm 24 and I have no intention of getting pregnant any time soon. I thought you'd told Ron to quit the subject until you had moved up in the department, right?"

Hermione nodded. "Of course, I did! But, when does your stupid brother ever listen to a word I say?"

Ginny chuckled at Hermione's words, she'd always found it terribly amusing that the two of them could fight so much and, yet, love each other more than any other couple that Ginny knew. But Ginny knew the reasons, they loved each other more than a normal couple because that was the only way that they could be together, by loving each other more than their fights; the red-head witch hated admitting it, but every once in a while she got very jealous of the young couple.

Hermione, realizing Ginny's head was elsewhere, decided to change the direction of the conversation. "So," the bushy-haired woman started questioning her sister-in-law. "Where were you tonight?"

Ginny looked at her sheepishly. "A few players and some of the guys from the staff met up at Gwen's for dinner and then we all went to that club that they've opened up next to Diagon Alley, what's its name?...Oh, yeah...The Seven Hippogriffs, isn't it?"

Hermione's breath caught in her throat. "The _six _hippogriffs," she corrected Ginny, as she, for some reason, looked at her with worry.

Ginny looked at Hermione with raised eyebrows. "Have you _been _there?" she asked the woman. "I mean, Gwen told me the opening was today..."

The bushy-haired girl gulped slightly but decided against lying to Ginny. "No, well...I haven't been there, you know I'm not partial to clubbing, but, well, the prince told me he was heading there tonight."

There was a small silence between the two friends, with neither of them really knowing what to say. Hermione hadn't talked to Ginny about Harry at all; she hadn't talked about the queen or about anything, really. Suddenly, the older witch felt guilty; Ginny probably felt like she couldn't trust her, if she could, then why hadn't she come to her with her troubles about Harry? It was true that since Ginny met Gwenog, she had pulled away from Hermione, but she should know that the older woman was there for whenever he sister-in-law needed her.

"Ginny," Hermione started hesitantly. "You know that you can trust me with anything, right? It doesn't matter who I work for or that I'm married to your brother, I'm still your friend."

Ginny, once again, raised her eyebrows at Hermione and gave her a strange look that made Hermione want to retreat, but she remained sitting next to Ginny and hear whatever she had to throw her way.

"Hermione," Ginny asked carefully. "What do you know?"

And, _that was it,_ Hermione thought. She had been expecting that sooner or later she'd be forced to come clean about Harry's admiration for Ginny and the queen's obvious intrusion. And so, Hermione told her; she told her about the first time she caught Harry listening to her on the wireless and how she suspected that he had asked Jerry to get Ginny to come to that first party and how the queen had realized and asked for her file. She told her that she didn't understand why he was so keen on getting to know her but that she knew it was something that the prince couldn't evade, for some reason.

"Are you...you're not actually seeing him, are you Ginny?" Hermione asked curiously and with worry. She didn't want her sister-in-law in that situation, not when she knew how badly she could get hurt.

Ginny shook her head solemnly. "No! Of course, not! I just...well, it's only been three times, well, _four _counting this one..."

"So, you just saw him?" Hermione asked her with wide eyes.

"Less than an hour ago," Ginny confessed with her head in her hands. "And, more than _saw _him, I'd say that I shouted at him with all the force of the Weasley temper."

Hermione brought a hand up to cover her open mouth. "Ginny! He's the Prince of Wales!"

The red-head looked at her with an unbelieving look. "And I'm Ginny Weasley, the youngest and only female of the famous Weasley seven! I assure you he's not any more worthy than I am to be treated with respect! And, he's been treating me with anything but, Hermione... he's been looking into my private life, he knew I had dated Lee!"

Hermione bit her lip and shrugged. "What's going on, Ginny? Do you know what he wants?"

Ginny huffed. "If I knew what he wanted, I'd be able to get the guy out of my head, but I can't... he's just... I know maybe I sound egocentric, but I think he likes me, Hermione... I think he really likes me and just doesn't know what to do about it..."

Hermione looked at Ginny with worry again. "I don't think giving into that is a good idea, Ginny; I think it would only hurt you..."

Ginny pursed her lips and looked up at Hermione. "After the way he acted tonight, I don't think I'll ever be tempted to look at him again... he was such a smug git, Hermione... talking like he was superior or something!"

Hermione raised her eyebrows questioningly. "Smug? Harry? Ginny, Harry's the most humble person I've met; he never lets royalty get to his head..."

"Well," Ginny stated. "I'd have said the same thing a few weeks ago but right then he was an idiot and, even if I was remotely interested, he blew off any admiration I had for him tonight..."

* * *

><p><strong>21<strong>**st**** December 2005**

**"You're** a git," Max told his brother as Harry narrated the previous night's occurrences with blood-shot eyes and guilt drenching his voice.

Harry put his head in his hands and bit his lips. "I just... oh, God, I don't know, Max...I tried to be cool, you know? Well, not cool, but, you know, I didn't want to be a shy skinny git, I wanted to stand out, I wanted her to, I don't know... I really don't know why... I saw that Jordan bloke, so tall and with his eyes on her and, I lost it..."

Max put a hand on his brother's shoulder, trying to hold back some snarky remarks. "Well, apologize then..."

"She won't listen to you if you go near her," a different, lighter voice sounded. Both men looked up quickly to find Hermione standing next to the huge wooden door.

"Nice to see you, Hermione," Max greeted her with a smile.

"Lovely to see you too, your Highness," Hermione answered back. The youngest sibling looked well. It always surprised her how little he looked like his brother and sister; his eyes were blue, like those of his paternal grandmother and his hair was a light chestnut colour, just like the queen's father's was.

However, Harry wasn't too keen on greeting and, instead, walked up to Hermione with a decided look in his eyes. "What did you just mean, Hermione?"

Hermione looked surprised. "I was just greeting your brother..."

"Hermione," Max interrupted her. "I think he means the comment from before."

Hermione bit her lip and gulped; now wishing she hadn't said a thing. "I just...well, Ginny will probably not want to see you in some time, your Hi-"

"Cut that out, Hermione," Harry spoke angrily. "It's Harry and Max, like I've told you far too many times! And now, please tell me _how _you know anything about Ginny."

Both Hermione and Max suddenly looked at Harry like he had grown another head.

"What-What do you mean, your-I mean, Harry?" Hermione asked, wondering if Harry truly didn't know that she was directly related to Ginny.

Max looked at his brother perplexed. "Harry, don't you know Hermione's surname...?"

"Of course I do!" Harry exclaimed, not knowing where this could be heading. "Your name's Hermione Jean Granger, is it not?"

Hermione and Max shared a worried look.

"H-Harry," Hermione spoke sympathetically. "I got married a year ago. My last name is 'Weasley'; Ginny's my sister-in-law, not to mention she's also been one of my best friends since I was thirteen..."

Harry stood still for a moment, not saying anything at all.

"But," he finally started, "You knew I was...Why didn't you say anything?"

Hermione shrugged. "I was hoping you'd let it go with time... Ginny doesn't need any trouble, Harry. Maybe you don't know it, but her love life hasn't exactly been a source of comfort for her..."

"I know she's been divorced, Hermione," Harry let her know as he took a place on one of the bulky armchairs that stood in the room.

Max's eyes went wide-eyes as he turned to look at his brother. "Divorced?" he asked in slight shock. "Harry, what are you thinking? Pursuing a married woman? Who are you trying to be? King Edward VIII? Can't you remember how that ended? Harry, I am not, under any circumstances, taking the throne if you abdicate!"

Harry rolled his eyes at his brother's sudden panic attack. "Max, I said divorced, not married..."

"That's hippogriffs bull, Harry! Magical marriages form eternal bonds, you know that!" Max expressed with dread for his brothers situation.

"Prince Max," Hermione offered. "She eloped and went through a Muggle marriage, there was no bond..."

Max seemed to calm down after that but Harry was still confused about what to do with Ginny.

"Hermione, I need to see her, I need to say sorry..." Harry begged while Hermione looked hesitant.

The woman looked down at the ground. "Harry, I love Ginny like a real sister... I can't stand the idea... Do you really like her that much?"

Harry nodded. "Never liked anyone like that, Hermione, I swear on Merlin. I've been trying to keep the distance, I have... I've been trying to let her come to me so I'll be sure she wants this, but I can't stand it any longer... I want to try, I want to see what we could be like..."

Hermione shook her head. "She's got a friendly match against the Tornados, today... but she won't be able to see you before or after... that's all I'm giving you, Harry... I really would rather if you left her alone, she doesn't need this..."

Harry ran a hand through his hair. "_I _need it, Hermione, and I think maybe she actually _does _need it too... I think, maybe, it could be good for both of us."

* * *

><p><strong>"Flash<strong>!" Gabby came running into the locker room, shouting out for Ginny.

Ginny, who was placing her shoes on her small feet, turned and laughed. "What is it, Gabs?"

The girl was already dressed and she was carrying a bulky package in her hand, a package that she held out for Ginny when she reached the red-head's locker.

Ginny eyed it carefully. "Has it been run through the protection charms?"

"Yeah," Gabby announced with a smile. "Go on, open it..."

Ginny wanted to open the package on her own, but she didn't have the heart to tell Gabby to go so she opened the package carefully, making sure it wasn't anything too personal.

She turned the package upside down and a note fell onto her lap. Ginny left the still bulky package next to her and picked up the note.

_Sorry _

There was nothing else on it, just that simple word, written in the most untidy hand-writing that she'd ever seen. However, she knew immediately who had sent her the package and, of course, so did Gabby.

"It's from the prince isn't it?" she asked quietly. "We all saw the fight yesterday..."

Ginny shrugged and reached for the package, turning it upside down once more and finally letting two beautiful red gloves fall onto her lap. Ginny picked them up immediately, admiring the dragon skin and the embroidery on both wrists, with her own surname written on them in Gryffindor colours.

"Wow," Gabby exclaimed, looking at the gloves in awe. "Are you gonna wear them?"

Ginny shrugged; if she wore them, she knew she was giving in; she was saying yes to the two of them having something, and that scared her... it scared her because she had never felt this thrill before, she had never wanted to hate someone so much, had reasons to hate someone so much and, yet, couldn't help but see pass everything that might bother you about them.

* * *

><p><strong>"Harr<strong>y, we shouldn't be here!" Sirius Black's voice resounded through the empty room at the top of the stands. "You're meant to be in a meeting; Lily is going to kill me!"

"I'm 25, Sirius," Harry let his godfather know. "My mum might _want_ to be scary, but she's no more scary than a teddy-bear, you know that.

Sirius sighed. "Fine, but we'll leave the minute that they come out, right? I have a class to teach, and Catalina says she needs to talk to me and Katie tonight..."

Harry laughed and Sirius glared at him.

"You know what it's about, don't you?" Sirius accused his godson.

"Of course I know," Harry declared with a laugh. "When has Catalina ever not told me something?"

Sirius shook his head. "Just please tell me she's not pregnant... I don't think I can be a grandfather yet..."

Harry laughed even louder at Sirius's constant worry about one of his four daughters getting pregnant. "I'll let her tell you all about it," Harry teased the man, but his attention was diverted quickly when seven witches dressed in green and silver made their way onto the pitch.

"Pass me the Omnioculars!" Harry shouted at Sirius, bringing them to his eyes as soon as he could.

He zoomed in and looked for the amazing red hair that had him enthralled. When he found her, he smiled at the look of determination that resided on her face as she looked at the opposite team and, then, he finally did it, he traced the outline of her arms and slowly zoomed in on her hands.

She was wearing the red gloves.

* * *

><p><strong><span>AN: So...loved it? Hated it? Please tell me what you thought! I really appreciate all the reviews that you have submitted up to now! :D And for those of you who asked for a longer chapter, I hope you were please with his one...I'll try to get the next one up ASAP but, unfortunately, I haven't even started on it. So, you know, review to tell me what you think and I'll send you a preview of the next chapter in about a week! :D**


	6. Chapter 5

**22nd ****December 2005**

Harry James Potter looked completely crazy as he ran across the palace, stopping at each window and shouting a peculiar name into the wind.

Various house-elves nearly offered to help, but the prince was moving too fast for them to follow and they didn't want to bother their master without reason.

"Hedwig!" Harry shouted once again, hoping that maybe this time he would be able to see his owl, but he knew that, even if she was only five metres away from him, he wouldn't be able to distinguish her from the snow.

The twenty-five year old continued moving around the castle until he finally reached the door of his father's office.

"Dad, have you seen Hedwig? I let her go for a hunt yesterday and she seems to have disappeared..."

James Potter looked up at his eldest son and stood up, looking at Harry with discontent.

"Harry, I'm kind of busy," the king told him, giving Remus Lupin, who was sitting opposite him, a pointed look.

Harry let out a small chuckle. "I'm sorry, I saw Remus, but I didn't think he would mind; he's used to me barging in on everything, after all."

Remus smiled at the young man and stood up, offering James a look that indicated that it didn't matter. "We weren't really talking about business, so no harm done. Besides, I need to get back to the Ministry."

Remus Lupin had always been a constant figure in Harry's life, he and Sirius had been the king's best friends back when no one would dare to socialize with the exiled royal family, in fear of Voldemort hurting them for it. However, Harry hadn't really seen Remus as a happy man until about eight years ago, when he was named Magical-Creatures Minister and he begun a relationship with Nymphadora Tonks, whom he would later on marry and have two beautiful children with; the first one, Ted Remus Lupin, was Harry's own godson.

"So, have you seen her?" Harry asked again curiously.

Both Remus and James shook their heads. "Why do you need her?" Remus asked curiously, with a hint of teasing in his voice.

Harry hoped none of them realized that he came close to blushing at that question. "Just need to send an owl to a friend of mine and, well...I'm starting to get worried, I hope nothing's happened to her..."

"Why don't you get Hermione to look for her, Harry? I swear that there is nothing that witch cannot do!" James complimented Hermione as he and Remus made their way towards Harry.

Harry shook his head. "Mum and I decided to give her what was left of this week and next week off... She put up a fight, but Mum found out it was her first Christmas with her husband as a married couple and she insisted; that woman really is sappy when she gets romantic."

"Oh, don't let her fool you, Harry," James laughed. "Your mum is _always _incredibly sappy, but she does the same thing that you do with your shyness; hide it behind a false charade. Oh! Look! There comes the famous bird!"

Harry turned around quickly and observed as Hedwig made her way through the small open window at the top of the wall next to the fireplace. He immediately stepped forwards and let her place herself on his shoulder and pick at his messy hair for a while.

"Tell Teddy I'll be around to see him on Christmas day..." Harry told Remus before the sandy-haired man had time to leave.

Remus shrugged. "It's not necessary, Harry... you can just give his gift to me and Tonks when we come for the ball."

Harry shook his head adamantly. "No way... I'll go as soon as I can and give both him and David their gifts. I can't promise I'll always be able to do the same but, when I can, I'll be there without hesitation."

Remus gave the younger man a look full of admiration that made Harry feel proud and then left the room, abandoning the king and prince.

"So, who's the owl for?" James asked his son carefully as the emerald-eyed man gave Hedwig a small note and let the bird fly into the snowing sky.

Harry shrugged. "A friend..."

James ran a hand through his hair and took a step towards his son; he was extremely glad that Harry had not grown to be a lot taller than him, leaving them both at a good 6 feet, unlike Max who, at seventeen, was taller than both of them, obviously having taken after Lily's father who was over 6'6''.

"A red-headed friend?" James risked it, causing Harry to gulp as he looked into his father's brown eyes. The prince continued looking at his father without saying anything and finally, he shrugged.

"A friend, Dad...isn't that enough? I really don't want to fight with you...it seems that all we've done since I turned seventeen is fight...I just don't want us to fight anymore"

James sighed. "Don't worry, I'm not going to interfere...unless you make me, please...just don't _make_ me interfere, Son...ok?"

Harry looked down and sighed, just like his father had done. "I can't make promises..."

James stood up with a frown and looked at Harry before leaving. "Then, neither can I..."

* * *

><p>"But, when did she leave?" Ron asked with slight panic grazing his voice.<p>

Ginny rolled her eyes as she continued putting up the Christmas decorations around the apartment, something she had wanted to do for over two weeks but hadn't been able to.

Her brother continued pacing around the living room without any destination.

"I don't know, Ron!...This morning, when I woke up, the guest room was empty and she had served breakfast for me and left a note thanking me for letting her stay...there's nothing else I know."

"But," Ron stated fiercely. "If you knew, you'd tell me, right? Because I'm your brother..."

Ginny raised her eyebrows. "I think you forget that Hermione has been one of my best friends since I was thirteen and has never turned her back on me; I'm afraid I can't say the same for you. Besides, Hermione told me what you argued about and she has every right to be angry!"

"Yeah, well...it's not like you can give a proper opinion about it..."

Ginny's brown eyes flashed and Ron regretted his words immediately.

"Just because I'm not married, it does not mean I know any less than you, Ronald! Hermione is at the top of her career and she is a Muggle-born! Her mum had her when she was thirty-five so Hermione does not see the point in rushing through starting a family when both you and her will be much more ready for it in two or three years time!" Ginny snapped at her brother.

Ron was about to reply when a beautiful snowy white owl started knocking on the window with its beak.

"Whose owl is that?" Ron asked, his brotherly over-protective nature kicking in.

Ginny glared at him as she opened the window and let the gorgeous owl enter. The bird perched itself on the kitchen table after dropping a rolled up piece of parchment into Ginny's hand.

Ginny didn't unroll the parchment, however; she continued looking at the owl in awe. It surprised her even more when the owl took flight but didn't leave; it headed towards the corner of the living room, where Seyth, Ginny's sandy owl, was resting peacefully.

"You should be careful," Ron warned her. "Seyth might get hurt."

However, the white owl didn't even touch the sleeping one; she, or at least Ginny thought it was a _she_, sat on Seyth's perch and peacefully observed the owl.

"Ron, go into my room and grab some owl treats, won't you?" Ginny asked his brother without taking her eyes of the birds.

Ron protested slightly but took off and Ginny was left alone, finally being able to open up the letter. Once again, that untidy hand writing showed up on the paper and Ginny had to laugh; how was it possible that a future king could produce such a messy script?

_Those gloves looked great and I've heard they were useful in the end. I'll be busy until after Christmas__,__ but I want to see you. On the 26__th__, 7pm, the Elegant Hippogriff. Hedwig, my owl, will leave with your reply. Either way, whatever you decide, happy Christmas, Ginny. _

_Harry_

Ginny bit her lip but it didn't take her a second to conjure a quill and write down a simple reply.

_I'll be there. Happy Christmas, Harry. _

As she finished writing down the reply, Hedwig took flight once again, kindly picked up the parchment from of Ginny's hand, flew towards Ron, snatched one of the owl treats and, finally, left through the open window.

"What in Merlin's Saggy Pants are you getting yourself into, Ginny?" Ron asked as he observed the owl flow away.

Ginny looked at him for a second, wondering how much he knew about what was going on but decided to bring that up at some other moment.

"Go find your wife, Ron..."

* * *

><p><strong>24<strong>**th**** December 2005**

All the eyes turned to the fireplace as Ginny launched into the living room in her Quidditch uniform.

"Is that Ginny?" Molly's voice was the first to be heard, coming from the kitchen.

"Yeah, Mum, it's me!" Ginny shouted back before smiling at the rest of the family, who were comfortably around the comfy living room.

Percy and Audrey were sitting in the far corner, feeding their sons and making sure they weren't disrupted by the other people in the room. Next to the fireplace, Ron and Hermione were sitting on one of the loveseats, arguing about something, but Ginny was able to smile as she realized it was one of their pathetic and useless arguments rather than the serious issue they had been dealing with two nights before. George and Fred weren't anywhere to be seen, and Ginny, with sadness, wondered if they were fighting. Fleur was sitting down with her eyes closed; Ginny's eyes crept over her slender figure, which was still slender save for the 4 month bump that was noticeable under her pale blue Weasley Jumper. Beside her, Bill was sitting on the floor, playing with Victoire, Dominique and another two red-headed small boys; looking at the a little closer, Ginny saw the younger boys' eyes and realized they weren't really red-heads, they were Teddy and David, Tonks's kids.

"Where have you been, sweetheart? It's late, we were getting worried," Arthur Weasley's voice asked as he came down the stairs.

Ginny sighed. "Gwenog..." she let her father know sadly. "She went crazy and she said, since it started snowing, we should practice...I don't know, I think it was more of a personal thing, but you know what she's like, she gets mad at you for simply asking about something other than Quidditch."

"Oh, poor dear, the girl has no one... I'm guessing she didn't want to come, right?" Molly asked as she engulfed her youngest in a hug, not minding that the young woman was soaking wet.

Ginny shook her head. "She didn't want to hear any of it. It's against my nature to leave her alone, but there's nothing I can do, she even blocked her Floo..."

"Nice gloves, Gin-Gin!" Suddenly exclaimed Charlie, who was coming out of the kitchen.

Ginny looked at the ground as she quickly took the royal gift off.

"Is that dragon skin?" Charlie asked twice as he took a few steps towards Ginny and grabbed the gloves from her hand. "God, Ginny, who gave you these? They are impossible to find, it's not even normal dragon skin; it's from a Catalonian Fireball! They are basically extinct! They only have a few left around in the northern regions of Asia..."

Bill looked up with confusion showing in his eyes. "I know you're earning your fair share of money, Squirt, but do you think it's wise to waste it all on a simple pair of gloves?"

Ginny was about to answer, but Hermione beat her to it.

"They are not a simple pair of gloves, Bill... they have magical properties, they only work for Ginny now, they'll be hers until she passes them on to her children, they are truly outstanding pieces of material..."

Ginny eyed the bushy-haired girl carefully. "How do you...?"

Hermione gave her look that indicated she would tell her after, when they were in private.

"But, you couldn't have bought these!" Charlie exclaimed. "They don't sell them anymore... Last I heard, the Asian government sent some material to all their magical allies as a gift. How did you get these?"

Ginny snatched the gloves back quickly and started heading towards the stairs. "They were a gift for... for the award I won a few months back. Anyway, I need to get dressed; I'll be back in a second."

Ron turned to look at Hermione with a questioning look.

"He sent them to her, didn't he?" the red-head asked.

Hermione nodded.

* * *

><p>"He didn't bring a date..."<p>

James looked up at his wife and smiled. The 45 year-old still looked as fantastic as she did when she had married him; the pale gold gown she was wearing fitted her perfectly and made her vibrant red hair, which was flowing freely down her back, look outstanding.

"Lils," James spoke quietly as he walked towards her and put his arms around his wife. It was something he would never do in public, he was seen like a strict and authoritative person in public, but in private he was even more of a sap that his wife. "What's wrong with you lately? You're meddling and you're being stubborn and, seriously, I'm starting to worry that, for the first time in twenty-six years, the whole royalty thing is getting to your head."

Lily pushed away from her husband and glared at him, crossing her arms over her breasts.

"What do you mean by that, James?"

James shook his head. "No," he told her with a strong tone. "You do not get to get angry at me for being truthful...You know I'm right. You should really stop meddling in everyone's life; Harry has already got enough with fighting me, he doesn't need to be angry at you too."

"Are you and Harry in a fight again?" Lily asked worried, changing the theme of the conversation.

James shook his head. "No, of course not, but when the time comes for another fight to erupt I don't want you and him to be angry at each other. If this thing that's going on with Ginny Weasley really does get serious, _I_'ll step in and make sure he knows how things are...you can be the supportive and understanding one; that suits you better."

Lily sighed. "But it's not supposed to be like that, James. I'm just trying to prevent this from happening, don't you see? My biggest wish is to be able to tell him to do whatever he wants, to see him be happy with whoever he wants... but, in the end, all he does is get hurt, he gets hurt again and again and both of you get angry and... is it so bad I'm trying to stop it before he really falls in love with the girl?"

"I'm sure you're exaggerating, Lily," James soothed her. "Harry's never really fallen in love, we both know that, I don't think this time it will be different."

"She's a red-head..." Lily warned with a small smile. "And she's also smart and a Quidditch player, and she comes from one of the best families in the Wizarding world... Come on, James, she's _Arthur Weasley's _daughter! If she's just half as nice and caring as that man is, then she's obviously a lot better than all of the other girls Harry has been with."

"Lay off," he told her once again. "I know it's not in your nature, and I know I'd much rather if I could be the cool king who is supportive to everything, but we can't do that... you need to be there for him, to be the one who, when the time comes, make him understand why things have to be the way they are."

Lily looked at the kind doubtfully. "I still think you're underestimating the situation."

James laughed. "And I still think you should stop talking, kiss me, and let us make our way to our guest..."

Lily took his arm and gave him a small peck on the lips.

"Lead the way, James..."

* * *

><p>"Can you just both calm down?" Ginny shouted.<p>

Both Fred and George continued firing spells at each other.

"Keep it down!" Charlie shouted a little lower. "Mum's gonna hear all of us, and if she sees this she'll go mental."

"You kissed her!" Fred shouted, firing another spell at George.

"And I'll continue doing so!" George shouted back.

This seemed to make Fred snap and the man dropped his wand and tackled his twin onto the snow, throwing a few punches at him.

Charlie tried to pull them apart, but he was smaller than both twins and he only got hurt in the progress.

The twins only stopped when they saw that Ginny's wand was pointed straight at them.

"What in Merlin's name is wrong with you?" Ginny screamed at both of them. "I'm fed up of this! We all are! It's been years since this pathetic business started and it's tearing both of you apart!"

"She was my girlfriend! He knew that, Ginny! My own brother..." Fred shouted, already on his feet again.

George shook his head. "Don't turn this on me, Fred. Don't you dare! You were playing with Angie! You know that! You were both jumping around each other, getting together and breaking up... One day she had enough and I... I realized I could treat her better than you."

"She wanted _me, _though! That's why she broke up with you!" Fred shouted back.

Ginny and Charlie looked at each other and, as the voices continued to be louder by the minute, they decided to make sure they wouldn't be heard from the house. The cast the spell quickly and went back to the discussion.

"Don't be stupid, Fred," Ginny interrupted them. "George's completely right...Angie came to me crying more than once during that year that you wouldn't make up your mind..."

"I fixed that!" Fred exclaimed. "She gave me another chance!"

"Only because I was still clinging onto Katie and _I _told her to go to you! I thought you'd man up and treat her right, but you can't do serious, can you, Fred? You can only do jokes, you can only do fun... her dad was dying and you couldn't deal with being with her..."

"And, so what? You had to take my place?" Fred snapped at him.

George gulped and took a step forward. "I tried to talk to you... I've tried to talk to you for years now... but you never listen; for you, she's always going to be _your _first girlfriend... you'll always think that _I _took her away from you, but it's not like that, Fred... For Merlin's sake, I _love _Angelina... she's everything to me, she has been everything to me since her dad died..."

Fred shook his head. "As do I! I love her too!"

But the words were half-hearted and, at that moment, they could all see straight through Fred.

"Freddy," Charlie spoke up in a way that made Ginny think he knew something. "This is not a game anymore, this is not about who you took to the Yule Ball, this is not about the first girl you slept with, and this isn't even about Angie anymore."

Ginny took her place. "You're not meant to be angry at each other, you're inseparable, you need each other to be whole... that's the reason why you've been putting this fight off... but, that's over, we are finishing this today, now!"

"There's nothing to finish, Ginny," Charlie whispered, confirming that he knew something that she didn't. Ginny raised her eyebrows.

"Step away, George," Fred told his twin. "We're forcing Angelina to stay away and that's not fair for her. Step away and let me have a chance, I promise that this time I'll treat her right, I promise that this time I won't play around with her..."

George looked down at the ground and Charlie spoke up once again.

"The one who needs to step away is you, Fred..."

For a second, Ginny was completely lost; why was Charlie siding with George? Once she thought about it, she knew she would also go for George... the twins were jokers, they were funny and careless people, but even though sometimes people thought they were the same, they weren't. Fred was completely careless, he was the funnier one, he was the more charismatic one, and George was the more serious one, that smarter one, the one who tended to think things through... George really loved Angelina; Fred, not so much.

However, Ginny was still having trouble guessing what it was that Charlie knew.

"Why are you on his side?" Fred asked his older brother.

Charlie was going to answer, but George beat him to it.

"Because he knows the truth... I told him this morning..."

Fred looked as confused as I felt.

"What truth?"

George looked pale as he gulped and closed his eyes for a second.

"Angie... Angie hasn't... Merlin, Fred... It's not that Angelina didn't want to get in the middle...It's that she's never really been in the middle...not since her dad died..."

"Angie's dad died over a year ago. Then you and I fought and she told us she wouldn't be seeing either of us again..." Fred explained, more to himself than anyone else.

George shook his head. "I went to see her the day after that..."

"The Floo was blocked, and then she made the apartment unplotable..." Fred told George.

George looked incredibly guilty and Fred looked like he had no idea what was going on. The four of them stood in silence for a moment, they were all freezing cold and Molly's voice could be heard from the house, telling them to come back in.

"_I _made the apartment unplotable, Fred...I...I didn't want to hurt you, I just thought that with time you'd find someone else and you'd forget about Angie and everything would be fine..."

"What in Gryffindor's name are you talking about, George?" Fred asked, voicing out Ginny's similar question.

"Me and Angie have been living together for nearly a year, Fred...the flat in London, it's not my new flat, it's Lee's...I just...What you saw today, the kiss...we were just being a normal couple, it wasn't me taking advantage, it wasn't me trying to make you angry...we're really together, Fred...we're gonna be together for a long time..."

Ginny had been expecting an immediate punch, she had been expecting shouts and some rolling around in the snow, maybe some horrible spells that they'd both regret...what she hadn't been expecting was the way that Fred's eyes became darker.

"You...You are not my brother anymore..."

And, with those simple words, Fred turned around and, with a pop, disappeared.

* * *

><p>"Take me for a spin, won't you, Harry?" A voice suddenly asked behind Harry. Harry turned around and smiled as he saw Tonks looking up at him. Behind her, Remus was sitting down next to Sirius.<p>

"Gladly," he told her as he took her hand and leaded her to the dance floor.

They spun around softly for a few minutes, with Harry trying to keep his feet as far away as he could from his partner's clumsy ones, before Tonks spoke up.

"No date, huh?" she mentioned carelessly. "How did Lils take that?"

Harry gave her a small smile. "Well, she _did _say that no date was better than a bad date so...I'm not really sure if that was meant to criticise last year's date or the one I wanted to invite this year..."

"Why didn't you invite her?" Tonks asked curiously.

"Who? Cho?" Harry asked with raised eyebrows.

Tonks shook her head. "Nah, kid...I'm sorry to tell you, but I wasn't exactly fond of that particularly chick. I meant the one that you wanted to invite this year..."

Harry laughed. "You know you don't have to hide the fact that you know her name, right? I'm aware my mum's told my dad and that my dad or Sirius has probably told Remus."

Tonks shrugged. "I wasn't sure if you wanted to talk about it. I'd promised myself that I wouldn't bring it up in front of you, but you know what I'm like, my mouth has a mind of its own."

Harry smiled. "You don't approve?" he asked her as he spun her around.

Tonks smiled. "On the contrary, I love the girl... But I'm scared you're gonna hurt her... she's been through enough, already, don't you think?"

Harry raised his eyebrows. "I knew you were familiar with her older brother, but I had no idea that you knew Ginny personally."

Tonks shook her head at him. "Come on, Harry... Max was just telling me you didn't know Hermione was her sister-in-law; where are you half the time? You have your head in the clouds, Harry. During the time when Remus was hesitant about being with me, Ginny Weasley was my best source of comfort... I met her when she was just eight, but she's always been a great friend to me...She was at our wedding, Harry..."

Harry shook his head. "If Ginny Weasley had been at your wedding I would have realized... the girl's as gorgeous as it gets."

Tonks rolled her eyes. "She was one of my bridesmaids, Harry. This is actually worrying, you know? Can't you remember her? I mean, she's changed a bit since she was sixteen, but not enough for you not to recognise her."

For a second Harry paused and he thought about the wedding they were talking about. He remembered it took place in one of the palace's gardens, and he could faintly remember sitting in one of the middle rows with one of his firsts girlfriends... maybe with Carolina, the Spanish dancer, or the French chef... He also faintly remembered a girl with red hair walking down the aisle, but hard as he tried, he couldn't remember anymore."

"I really have had my head up my arse for a while, haven't I?" Harry asked Tonks, waiting for an honest answer.

The light pink-haired woman laughed quietly. "You were a kid and continued acting like a kid for far too long... But, it's kind of funny... Ginny was almost Teddy's godmother, but my dad died, and we decided to give the title to my mum. And, once David was born, Ginny had just gotten divorced and she wasn't in a good place, so she told us to give it to someone else..."

Harry looked down at their linked hands for a second, thinking...

"So, maybe, we could have met years ago..."

"Like you said, you weren't very interested in anything other than yourself for a while... I almost didn't name you godfather for a while, because of your attitude, but when it was you who had to take me to St. Mungos, and after you dealt with everything so well, I couldn't help it... you deserved to be Teddy's godfather..."

"Where is Teddy?" Harry asked. "At your parent's?

Tonks laughed. "No, kid, Molly Weasley offered to have them over, and Teddy loves playing with one of Ginny's nieces, Victoire. "

"This is turning stranger by the minute..." Harry let her knows. "One could almost say it really _is_ fate...·

"Just think things through, will you, Harry?" Tonks asked him. "Don't hurt Ginny..."

* * *

><p>"Are you serious?" Charlie's doubtful voice asked Ginny as he looked at her across the table, his face decorated with unbelieving wide blue eyes.<p>

Ginny nodded and suddenly wondered if telling Charlie had been a good idea. She had just been sitting at the small table in the corner of the living room when Charlie came along with his big smile and asked her what she was thinking about. Before she could really meditate what she was doing, she had told him all about that first party, the disco's incident, the gloves...

"And what are you going to do?" he asked with concern.

Ginny sighed. She was glad it was Charlie whom she was talking to; Bill had always and would forever hold a special place in her heart as her eldest brother and the one who had really helped bring her up as a kid, but Charlie was different. Contrary to popular belief, it had been Charlie who taught Ginny her first swear word, it had been Charlie who showed Ginny how to break the lock on the broom shed, it had been Charlie who made sure Ginny knew how to make the Bat Boogie Hex as amazing as hers was. Bill was, after all, her eldest brother, but Charlie was, without doubt, her favourite.

"What would you do?" She asked him, hoping for an honest answer.

Charlie gave her one.

"I'd run away," he told her as sincerely as he could. Ginny looked at him and sighed, showing him that she didn't think she could do that. "You have to, Ginny," Charlie tried to make her understand. "Don't you see? You're at the top of your career, Shortstop; you're the best bloody chaser in the league and you've already led England to win one world cup, you could keep going on at this rate for years before you got to an age where you would have stop! Why would you want to get yourself in this mess?"

Ginny shrugged. "I have no idea, Charlie..."

"Come on, Gin-Gin... Besides, it's proved that any relationship with this boy would go absolutely nowhere; there's no future for it what-so-ever!"

"Hey," Ginny stopped him. "I'm not talking about futures, Charlie...I'm perfectly aware that this relationship can't really go anywhere, but I don't even want a relationship; I'm just saying I like the guy..."

Charlie shook his head. "You've been through enough, don't you think? Do you really want more problems...?"

Ginny glared at her brother. "Well, I obviously must have a bit of an addiction to them because I'm having dinner with him in two days time..."

Charlie opened his mouth to say something, but Ginny shook her head.

"No, Charlie...I'm going, I already decided...The most probable thing is that I'll go to the dinner, we'll talk, have a nice time, but in the end, we'll decide that the best thing is to leave it at that..."

Charlie shrugged. "Do you really believe that, Shortstop?"

Ginny took her glass of Champagne and drank it all in one gulp. "I'd like to, but..."

"But?" Charlie asked curiously.

"But...I don't really believe it, Charlie...Not for a second..."

* * *

><p>AN: **READ!** :D So, I guess most of you are a little annoyed at the non-existant H/G in this chapter but...I can promise, in the next chapter (the date) there will be nothing else except for H/G all the way :) Anyway, I hope you enjoyed seeing Harry and James interact, it's something that I had to do because I hadn't written a scene where they talked to each other...And, in case any of you are wondering, Ginny's owl, Seyth, is named like this because 'Seyth' is Seven in Old Welsh and we all know how important the number seven is for Ginny! :D

Anyway, please REVIEW and tell me what you thought about this chapter and when it's ready, I'll send you the preview for the next chappie! :D


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N: Well, Wrote half of the chapter, then the computer broke for almost a month and a half and I lost all that I had written. Then, school started and Senior Year is absolutely killing me, and I shouldn't even be writing now, but I felt I owed you. Please...enjoy it!**

* * *

><p><strong>26th December 2005<strong>

"You heading somewhere, Harry?" Remus Lupin's voice was heard through the prince's chamber.

Harry straightened his tie before looking up at Remus and shrugging.

"I'm guessing that's my mum's question and not yours, true?" the emerald-eyed man asked with a laugh as he looked back at the mirror he was standing in front of.

Remus chuckled.

"Not really," the werewolf confessed. "I'll admit that she_ was _moaning about you not letting her know where you were going, but she didn't put me up to questioning you, I swear."

Harry turned around and smiled at his father's friend, who took a few steps forward and sat on the closest sofa. Remus looked up at Harry with a mixture of admiration and pride.

"Do I look good?" Harry asked the man, turning around to face him.

Remus smiled. "Of course you do, Harry; thought I would recommend asking Sirius, he's always followed fashion better than me."

They both chuckled slightly.

"So," Remus continued. "Are you going to see Ginny?"

Harry sighed as he nodded slowly. "But don't tell Mum, ok? I don't want her to meddle in this."

Remus shrugged but nodded, indicating that he wouldn't say a word.

"You're quite taken with her, aren't you?" Remus asked him with a strange knowing smile on his face.

Harry just smiled back at him.

"Nymphadora seems to think you'll be head over arse in love with her in no time…"

After that, Harry was quiet for a second. Ginny was outstanding, she was passionate and she brought out the best in him; but he wasn't stupid, Harry was no normal boy and that meant that truly falling for Ginny could, and would, bring up many problems.

"We'll deal with that if we get there, ok?" Harry told Remus kindly.

Remus shook his head. "I know the girl, Harry. She reminds me so much of Dora at times…she's stubborn and independent and she can, and _will_, always stand up for herself. And, yet, she also reminds me of Molly Weasley, who is nurturing and patient…she even reminds me of Lily a little…"

Harry looked up. "She reminds you of Mum?" he asked him, surprised.

Remus chuckled. "Yeah...Ginny, well, she's got that thing your mum's always had...you know, that thing when she just _knows _about life because she just _does_..."

Harry smiled as he nodded, looking absently at a window that showed the snow that was falling outside. "She does have that, doesn't she? I think it's one of things I most like about her; it's like she's lived thousands of years but she doesn't show off about it...she just talks in this way that makes you see the wisdom..."

Remus smiled back at the 25-year-old.

"Exactly," he said. "So, Harry, I don't think it's a matter of 'if' you fall for her, but more like, _when_ you fall for her."

Harry sighed as he ran a hand through his messy hair.

* * *

><p>"I don't like this one bit, Squirt," Charlie announced to the empty living room as his only sister finished getting ready in her room.<p>

The girl in question responded with a shout. "I'll regret it all my life if I don't go!"

Charlie shook his head. "You might regret it all your life if you _do _go. What does it matter if you don't go...you said it yourself...the possibilities of a relationship with this guy are completely nonexistent."

Ginny sighed from her room. "I know that, _Charles_! But I feel that I need to go; it's like that feeling I got when I used to steal your brooms...I knew it was the right thing to do!"

Charlie chuckled darkly. "Cheeky little midget..." he muttered under his breath, getting hit by a cushion a second later.

"I heard that, Charlie!"

Charlie got ready to hit his sister back, but stopped when he saw her. The little snitch had put her hair up in a weird complicated bun and was wearing a black halter dress that reached mid-thigh, leaving her shoulders and most of her legs, that looked far too long and, exceptuating a black pair of stilettos, completely bare.

The older sibling frowned. "You do realise we're in December, don't you?"

Ginny raised her eyebrows at the red-head. "And?"

Charlie ran a hand through his long hair. "Well, I was simply trying to state that you are going to freeze to death if you go out there like this."

Ginny sent him a glare.

"I'm wearing my green robes on top of this, you git," Ginny told her brother off.

"Then," Charlie started. "What's the point in wearing something underneath that has less material than a swimsuit? If you're going to be wearing your robes, wear some warn and comfortable stuff underneath them."

Ginny smirked. "Well, I don't think I'll be needing the robes all night."

Charlie's jaw fell up. "W-What do you...?"

Ginny laughed out load.

"Chill out, big brother," she patted his back as she laughed. "I only meant that there'll be plenty of heating charms around the 'Elegant Hippogriff'."

Charlie's jaw fell once again. "That's where he's taking you?"

Ginny shrugged. "Yeah...Hermione told me it's a posh restaurant; it's not my type of thing but..."

"God, Gin-Gin...'posh' is an understatement, the 'Elegant Hippogriff' is the most snobbish thing that I have ever seen...you know, five forks, ten spoons, four glasses..."

Ginny bit her lip. "And how is it that you know so much about this place?"

Charlie laughed. "Remember Martha Melton? The girl I dated for a bit before leaving for Romania?"

"The snob that used to make horrible comments about my _'orange'_ hair and how I would grow up to resent it..."

Charlie laughed once again. "Yeah...I broke up with her at that restaurant."

Ginny raised her eyebrows.

"Squirt...We...Us Weasleys; we're not made for that kind of thing, we don't belong in that world."

Ginny sighed. "That's for me to decide, don't you think?"

Charlie nodded hesitantly. "Yeah, it is, but it's my duty to warn you...you're heading into a territory that you cannot survive in and, even worst...If the prince spends more time with you he'll fall for you, Ginny."

"You don't know that..."

Charlie smiled sympathetically. "You're my little sister, I've watched guy after guy fawn over you without you even noticing. If tonight goes well, the prince will fall in love with you, there's no doubt in my mind about that."

Ginny tried to say something, but Charlie stopped her.

"That's why I'm begging you not to go...you'll break both your hearts if you continue with this ridiculous nonsense!"

Ginny shook her head. "I'm going, Charlie...like I told you, it's just one of these times that I know what I'm supposed to do... And what I'm supposed to do is meet up with Harry, tonight. I'm sure of it..."

Charlie shrugged. "If you say so, Gin..."

* * *

><p>Ginny had to laugh when she saw Harry pacing inside the restaurant.<p>

Looking around her, she realized that Charlie had been right, this place was as posh as it could get; however, just by looking back at Harry, she could get her mind off any other problem and concentrate only on him.

"Miss Weasley?" A voice whispered close to her ear.

Ginny jumped slightly but soon saw that the speaker was one of the waiters.

"The prince is waiting for you, Miss..." the man smiled politely, leading her to the back of the restaurant. At this, Ginny raised an eyebrow.

"Why aren't we going in through the front door?" she asked quickly, not really caring if she was being intrusive. She looked back at the window and saw that Harry now remained still, looking at the door that Ginny supposed she would be entering from. She looked around her one more time before following the man, who was leading her towards the room where Harry was.

Ginny couldn't shake of the feeling that was taking a hold of her; it was like everything in her head was telling her to walk away. She looked down at her high heels, which clicked gently on the beautiful stone pavement illuminated by the fairy lights that floated around her and, suddenly, she knew that this was not the place she was supposed to be.

She looked up and her heart skipped a beat when she saw a certain Prince of Wales staring back at her with a shy smile on his face.

"Miss, are you coming?" the man that was accompanying her asked as she stopped.

Ginny silently looked back up at Harry and shook her head gently, asking for forgiveness. She hated to do this, but now she saw that Charlie had been right, this could not, would not, end well; Harry Potter was one of the most important wizards on the earth, she was just a humble, popular, Quiddich player, who knew nothing about protocol or royalty.

"Please tell the prince that..." she started not knowing too well what it was that she was supposed to say. Somehow, a second later, she knew. "Tell him that...Maybe in another life."

Before she finished the sentence, Ginny turned around, not wanting to be witness of Harry's face when he saw she was leaving. And so she started to walk away, ignoring some wizards that were standing in line, waiting to be seated, and were pointing at her, obviously having recognised her as _the red flash_; she chuck her hands into her pockets and hid her neck and chin into the top of her green cloak as she took off, crossing quickly the beautiful metal gates that gave entrance to the _Elegant Hippogriff_.

What she wasn't expecting, however, was the snowflakes that started falling upon her fiery red hair, since it wasn't supposed to start snowing again until the New Year was in. And yet, this new development didn't annoy Ginny, instead it had the opposite effect; a small smile replaced the frown and the girl stopped dead in her tracks and looked up into the beautiful dark London sky, where tiny snowflakes replaced the stars that could only be seen from the countryside. The feeling of the frozen tears that the sky was detaching itself of made Ginny look around again, now finding a quiet and almost lonely street that suited her a lot more than any posh restaurant. And yet, instead of feeling relieved that she seemed to have made the right decision, she suddenly wanted nothing more than to see Harry and tell him to dance with her underneath the snow, no matter how corny and girlish that might sound.

She was so immersed in her thoughts that she did not notice she was now being watched.

"I wish you'd like me as much as you seem to like the snow," Harry Potter's voice spoke up making Ginny turn around quickly, almost losing her balance on the slippery pavement.

The prince's hair was once again all over the place and filled with white snowflakes, and he looked incredibly handsome with a black robe and his green eyes staring right through Ginny. The red-haired girl gulped slightly and looked down at the ground, knowing that she was going to have to make use of her Gryffindor courage and take care of this 'problem' once and for all.

"Happy Christmas," Ginny told him, somehow not finding any other words to start saying what she needed to say.

Harry ran a cold hand through his hair and, as much as Ginny wanted him not to, ignored her strange greeting. "What do you...? Why did you leave?"

Ginny couldn't bring herself to lie to him; it would be of no use anyway, she had to affront this situation, so she looked up into his outstanding eyes and told him that it couldn't be. "I'm not this kind of girl...I can't do this...I don't do twenty-spoon restaurants...I don't _want _them..."

The prince looked a little confused for a second but seemed to understand. "So, then...let's go somewhere else! I don't even like this place that much, I just thought you might think it...well, I don't know...maybe I screwed up a little." Harry told her, taking a step closer. He didn't want her to leave; he had been looking towards having a proper date with her since he had met her. He raised his hand and tucked a strand of Ginny's hair behind her ear.

Ginny closed her eyes slowly, trying to concentrate. "I can't...I can't do this, Harry, we can't do this. What's the point? Seriously, this is going nowhere..."

Harry went even closer to her, so that her chin was touching his chest and his arms could surround her perfectly.

"I'm not good with this, Ginny... But please, this can go anywhere you want it to go, _we _can go wherever you want us to go, but don't leave me hanging...I've been waiting for this since I met you at that bloody party...Merlin! I've been waiting for this since I first saw you fly at that match."

Ginny couldn't help the little laugh that escaped her mouth. "Harry...You chose _the Elegant Hippogriff_ for us to have a first date? Does that not show that this is a terrible idea? Does it not show that we don't fit at all? "

Harry chuckled slightly and pushed her into him softly, tightening his hold on her back. "It shows me that I've always been a bit of a clotpole when it comes to these kinds of things, and it only tells me that I obviously need to spend more time with you so that _these things_ don't happen again."

Ginny buried her face in his chest and laughed silently. "You really _are _going to convince me, aren't you?"

"Well," Harry told her. "I didn't come here to freeze my arse off, that's for sure..."

Ginny laughed and took a hold of his hand.

"Anywhere I want to go?" Ginny asked him with a devilish smile.

Harry sent her a smile that made her heart melt. "I'm probably going to regret it, but, yes, anywhere you want to go..."

* * *

><p>"Mum would never believe I've been here," the prince spoke silently into Ginny's ear.<p>

The two of them were sitting on a pair of chairs that looked like animals as they heard children run around their table happily.

Ginny laughed at the comment. "My dad went crazy when I brought him here. D...A friend of mine used to bring me back when I had just left Hogwarts, and the truth is I fell in love with it. It's noisy and all over the place, but it reminds me of The Burrow, my house, and I love to see how Muggles can make magic without being able to actually use real wand magic...I mean, well, do you get me?"

Harry smiled. "Yes...completely. But, I don't think you...I've been dying to go to this place since forever..."

Ginny raised an eyebrow as she took a sip of the coke they'd just put on the table. "I didn't think you would have heard of the place."

Harry laughed. "Believe it or not, my dad asked my mum to marry her in a Rainforest Cafe."

Ginny's jaw dropped slightly, making Harry laugh a little more.

"My dad was exiled to America during Voldemort's reign, and after Hogwarts my mum went there with him, making my farfar and mormor, my grandparents, completely crazy. The entrance to the wizarding community where they lived was through the toilet of a commercial centre, which later became the toilet of a Rainforest Cafe and my mum used to go into the Muggle world at least once a day to phone my grandparents and then my dad and she would always have a drink at the cafe...and one day he popped the question, as they would say."

Ginny laughed. "And you've never been to one before?"

Harry nodded. "In theory, yes, I was taken there before coming back to England, but I was only three months old, so I don't remember the details..."

They both laughed heavily as the waiter came by and took their order.

"When Mum found out they were making one in Britain she went crazy, but there hasn't been an opportunity for the five of us to get together long enough and my mum doesn't want to come without the whole family...I don't know, she's like, she does things that make no sense, but in the end there's a hidden meaning that we all end up understanding, she's special that way," Harry explained with a sweet smile on his face.

"Merlin," Ginny laughed. "You're such a mummy's boy...I can tell..."

Harry laughed as well as he agreed with a nod. "I am; there's no point in denying...I get on worst with my dad, my mum is a bit of a control freak sometimes, but she tries her best to think of my happiness..."

Ginny shuffled a little and sat even closer to him in the booth they were sharing.

"So, then? Does all this mean that I chose the right place? Even if there is a waterfall right behind us, a fake giraffe that's trying to drink out of my coke and they've given us crayons instead of a fork?" Ginny asked him with a huge smile.

Harry turned slightly to look at her better, taking her left hand in his right. "You have the greatest taste that I've ever known..."

Ginny hit him playfully. "I'm sure you've known people with far greater tastes than mine, prince..."

Harry frowned at the use of the title but decided to ignore it as he leaned down and kissed her cheek softly. "Maybe you're right, since you nearly avoided this tonight..."

Ginny shook her head. "Everyone's allowed to make mistakes, especially if you have someone looking out for you who will make you see reason..."

Harry opened his mouth but shut it again when the waitress came around with two bowls of chicken nuggets.

* * *

><p>"So, let me recap," Harry spoke up as they both sat at the bar of the muggle pub with a drink each. "Your birthday is on the 11th of august..."<p>

"11 days after yours," Ginny added with a laugh as she looked down at their unused hands, which were intertwined.

"Your mum is a housewife and your dad is the famous and crazy Arthur Weasley, who controls most of the Muggle department at the Ministry and is only subordinated to James Ronaldson. You lost both your uncles in the war, but you didn't get to know them at all. You're the youngest of seven and your brothers are Bill, Charlie, Percy, the famous Weasley Twins, Fred and George, and Ron, Hermione's wife...but you had already told me that, and you're an aunt to 5 great kids and you have three sisters-in-law. Your best subject at Hogwarts was DADA, only second to Quiddich and well...if we're going to let it all out, you have an ex-husband called Dean Thomas, who went to Hogwarts with you." Harry let it all out making Ginny smile at him.

"And I also have an ex-boyfriend who you got a little confused about," she told him with a mixture of jokes and a little anger.

Harry shook his head. "It was a real mistake; you don't know how much I regret being such an idiot...I was really just trying to be smooth, to impress you..."

Ginny separated her hand from his and took it to his chest. "I'm afraid to say smooth isn't your best quality, Potter...And, I have to say, it seems unfair that you know so much about me, but all I know about you is what I've read in papers and text books."

Harry put his hand on her back and brought her closer. "Let's get out of here and I'll tell you everything you want to know, Weasley."

Ginny couldn't help but smile. "You're on, Potter, you're on..."

* * *

><p>"Are you sure you're not hot? Maybe I've gone overboard with the warming charms." Harry asked Ginny as they both sat in the middle of Hyde Park. The two of them had occupied a tiny hill, dominated by a huge London Plane; the famous tree was nothing short of outstanding.<p>

Ginny shook her head as she comfortably fell into Harry's embrace. "Truthfully, I'm tempted to take off my robe, but my outfit would scare all the Muggles looking by, they'd think I was freezing to death. It's truly unfair how you wizards have proper Muggle clothes for this kind of weather and us witches can only wear robes or dresses."

Harry laughed, looking up and thinking how he'd done a pretty good job with his spells, it was amazing for it to feel like summer while snow fell around them. "Take off your robe if you like, I cast a disillusionment charm before; no one will be seeing us anytime soon."

Ginny smiled and looked back to face him as she started taking her coat off. "I'll try not to take that the wrong way, Harry, but why would you want no one to see us?"

"You are aware that I'm also known in the Muggle world, aren't you? I've had a know-me-not spell on me for the whole night, but if my mum hears I've used it she'll go crazy, so I decided not to risk it any longer..."

Ginny started at him in surprise as he helped her take her coat off. "You'll have to teach me that one. But, before, please explain how it is that Muggles know you too?"

However, when Ginny turned towards him to get an answer, she found him staring at her dumbfounded, looking at her long pale legs.

Ginny rolled her eyes.

"You alright, mighty prince?" she asked him sarcastically as she took off her heels and tucked her legs underneath her, leaning against Harry, who was in turn leaning against the tree and still looking at her as if she'd grown another head. "Harry!" she shouted at him, playfully hitting him on the leg.

The prince finally seamed to regain himself and looked back at Ginny. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "You just...I don't know, I didn't think you'd look like this underneath your robes...you look outstanding..."

Ginny smiled as she looked at him with a tender smile. "You might not be smooth, Harry...but you sure know how to charm a girl..."

Harry smiled. "It's easy to charm you," he told her sincerely. "When we're together...I can understand you perfectly; however, when we're apart I obviously screw up a bit more."

They both laughed and Harry tightened his hold on her.

"Anyway, what was it you were saying?" he asked her kindly.

Ginny thought for a second. "Oh...just asking you how come Muggles know you, I would think for you it'd be like me...only recognised in the wizarding world of Britain..."

Harry shook his head. "It's not like I'm _that _well known, at least not in Britain, but you have to realize I'm not only the Wizarding Prince of Wales, I'm also the grandson of the Muggle King of Norway, so...I also appear in Muggle tabloids."

Ginny laughed. "I should have probably realized that...You are pretty important, aren't you, Harry?"

Harry pulled her slightly more into him and leaned his head on her shoulder. "I would much rather be a farmer, trust me..."

Ginny giggled uncharacteristically. "A farmer?" she asked him. "Really, a magical one or a Muggle one?"

Harry's eyes rested on hers and they both sat there for a few seconds just looking at each other. "You might not believe it, but I'd much rather be a Muggle one...manual working has always been something I do to relax, I find it takes all anger and stress out of my body and puts it into doing a good job."

Ginny turned her torso completely so that she was looking straight at Harry. She was trying to figure him out, figure out how he could be so special, so amazing...

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Harry asked her.

Ginny shrugged. "I'm trying to find an instruction book that goes with you...you're a special kind of man, Harry Potter."

Harry took her hands in his and went closer to her, so that their foreheads were touching.

"It's not hard to understand me," he told her. "And the instructions book comes included in me...all you have to say is 'next' and I'll lead you..."

Ginny looked at him with a cheeky smile.

"So, if I say 'next', I-

But her speech was cut short when Harry leaned even more into her and placed his lips firmly against hers, giving her a feeling that she hadn't felt in ages.

All that Harry could not say through words, he could say through kisses. The way he touched her hair, and caressed her lips with his own, pulling her into him in a way she hadn't truly experienced before.

He pulled back with a smile with his hand still tangled in her hair, which she had let down half-way through the night.

Ginny shook her head while she bit her lip. "We are both asking for trouble, you know it, right?"

Harry untangled his hand from her hair and he leaned down again, to kiss her cheek sweetly.

"I like you a lot, Gin..." Harry spoke up, using a nickname he had been dying to use for her.

"It still means a lot of trouble, Harry...I'm not sure it's what I need right now, as mean and horrible as that may sound," she told him, trying her best to show him that her heart was telling something else completely.

Harry looked away and stood up, handing her his hand so that she could get up. Once she was up, standing on her barefoot, almost a head smaller than him, Harry spoke again.

"What do you see?" he asked her, looking around the famous British park.

Ginny shrugged. "Snow falling around us?" she asked, but Harry gestured for her to keep on going. "A beautiful white park, Christmas lights everywhere, families and couples passing by, probably going to the ice-skating rink that's around the corner..."

Harry the grabbed both of their robes, which were thrown down on the floor and, took out his wand as he handed Ginny her robe.

"Can you transfigure it into a coat for a little while?" Harry asked her as he himself transfigured his.

Ginny nodded and did the same. Harry, meanwhile, conjured two pairs of black gloves and one woolly winter hat; then, he gave a pair of gloves and the hat to Ginny and, once she had placed them on her, he took her hand and led her down the hill, away from the disillusionment charm.

"What are we doing, Harry?" Ginny asked him but, instead of an answer, she got another fantastic kiss from Harry.

This time it was a little different, since they were both standing. He was leaning down and had a hand tightly pressing against her back, pushing her into him. Ginny couldn't help her hands, as they wandered towards Harry's messy hair, which was quickly becoming white with snow.

Harry pulled back once again.

"You and I are a normal boy and a girl, who are enjoying a night out on our Christmas Holidays, in a beautiful park where we are getting frozen to death..." Harry explained.

Ginny tried to smile, but she couldn't bring herself too. She was happier than she could remember ever being, she couldn't remember having ever had as much fun as tonight, but she had a funny feeling that this was going to hurt her a lot.

"Ginny," Harry begged. "Try, please...can't we just have fun, get to really know each other? We can even be only friends if you like; I mean it..."

And, just like that, when Harry's gorgeous green eyes stared right at her, she suddenly knew that she didn't have an option. This would most possible end in disaster, but now she knew that she'd have to see it end, because she was in for the ride. So, just like that, Ginny brought Harry's head down to meet hers and kissed him forcefully, with as much emotion as she could, trying to send him the message that she had come to realize.

As she pulled back, Harry was left with a goofy smile on his face.

"That's not what friends do, Gin..."

Ginny put her arms around Harry's neck and spoke up.

"I know, Harry, I know..."

And just like that, a young handsome couple, she with bright red hair showing underneath a black hat and he with messy black locks, highlighted by the snow resting upon it, stood in the middle of Hyde Park, oblivious to the rest of the world as they kissed and hugged and embarked on a new adventure that would surely change their lives forever.

**THE END**

Haha, only kidding...sorry, couldn't help the temptation.

No, no, there's still a while to go and I hope you'll continue to be on for the rest of the way.

Can't promise a thing, but I will try to write as soon as I possibly can. Remember to review and I'll reply, where you'll be the first to know when the new chapter is coming and you'll get a preview of it.


	8. Chapter 7

_**A/N: Thanks to those of you who reviewed the last chapter and I'm glad most of you liked the date. I am sorry about the delays but I'm hoping that I will be able to write atleast tow chapters in christmas. Ir ealy am sorry but I'm a senior, trying to get great marks so she can study journalism. Anyway, once again sorry and I hope most of you understand. Also, I'm sorry I didn't send previews for this chapter but things have just been extremely hectic, : Now we get a little jump in time to March.**_

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><p><strong>26th March 2006 - Three Months Later<strong>

Prince Harry was not acting like his normal self. Since Christmas, he always wore a silly smile on his face; he greeted everyone happily and never seemed to let the stress of his title get to him. By March, Lily had grown weary of the situation; she was having trouble dealing with how she was supposed to feel. The queen was intensely happy that her son was walking on a cloud all day long, it's not like he was distracted, he was efficient as ever and he was even keeping up a good relationship with the King, but it also worried Lily that the person who caused this was beginning to be very important to Harry.

With time, Lily had managed to gather plenty of information about Ginny, even being able to enter memories that others had of her. The conclusion she came to after discovering so much about the young girl made her even more nervous; the girl was marvellous, and even worse, Ginny Weasley reminded the queen of herself immensely.

It must have been around four in the afternoon when Lily entered Harry's living room, only to see her son sat on his favourite red armchair, with his back to her and facing a mirror, where the reflexion of a scruffy Ginny Weasley could be seen.

"It's ridiculous that he's not getting punished for that, Gin...I don't care if it's Quidditch, he doesn't get to do that..."

The woman that was looking at her son through the mirror was obviously on her break from her Quidditch training since she seemed to be on the Harpies' stands, sporting a ridiculously messy plat and no makeup what-so-ever.

"You're just jealous..." the red-head teased the queen's son.

Lily heard Harry chuckle deeply. "Damn right I am...who the hell does that git think he is? He touched your arse so shamelessly that it was plastered on every single magazine the next day."

'_Oh, so that's what they were talking about?' _Lily thought, remembering the incident that had occurred a few days back when a Quidditch player from an opposing team had grabbed the young woman's bottom in the middle of the match. The breakfast that morning had been particularly silent, with Harry muttering angry words under his breath, James stating that maybe women just shouldn't play Quidditch and that comment resulting in Lily not talking to him for the rest of the day.

Ginny laughed and opened her mouth to say something, but Harry placed the mirror at another angle, making it possible for Ginny to see the queen. The read-head looked at her boyfriend's mother and gulped slightly before warning the prince.

"Harry..." she said quietly, pointing her eyes at his mother.

Harry turned around almost instantly, giving Lily a small glare. The queen returned the glare, trying to let him know that she'd only been there for a few seconds.

"I need to go back anyway, Gwen's calling," Lily heard Ginny say.

Her son nodded at the mirror. "Tell her to go easy on you, your arm's is still not completely back to shape."

"I'll talk to you later," Ginny spoke out.

"Bye, Gin..." Harry finally spoke at the mirror, putting it down a second later and standing up to face his mother.

"Just how long have you been there?" he asked the queen with a half-smile.

Lily crossed her arms over her chest and huffed slightly. "I was only here for a second and I thought I'd have the consideration to let you finish instead of interrupting."

Harry laughed and leaned down to kiss his mum's head.

"Don't get angry, I just don't like to see her uncomfortable."

Lily raised her eyebrows. "And I make her uncomfortable?"

Harry ran a hand through his hair. "No, you try your _hardest _to make her uncomfortable, but you barely succeed...I haven't seen a more stubborn woman...she'll only feel uncomfortable if she wants to, trust me when I say you won't be able to make her feel or do anything she doesn't want to.

Lily shrugged and looked around the room.

"Everything's ready for the party tomorrow, is it not?"

Harry nodded.

"Is _she_ coming?" the queen continued.

The young man looked at his mother sternly. "Her name is _Ginny_, and yes, _mother_,of course she's coming; she's my girlfriend, for Merlin's sake."

Lily shook her head at her son. "Alright, alright, don't bite my head of...I just wanted to know if there was anything you wanted..."

Harry shook his head and offered his mother a smile. "I've got everything I need, Mum."

And, somehow, Lily didn't know how she should feel about that.

* * *

><p>"His attitude is...well, it's not like he was rude before, but he's so charming now, Ginny...trust me when I say that being with you has changed him..."<p>

Ginny laughed off Hermione's words. "Yes, I'm sure he says a lot more swearwords now."

Hermione rolled her eyes at her sister-in-law.

"I'm serious, Ginny...the man is so in love with you that he barely knows what to do with himself."

At these words, however, Ginny didn't seem relieved; on the contrary, she gulped.

"He almost told me he loved me the other day..."

Hermione raised her eyebrows a little, asking Ginny to continue.

"We had gone out into muggle London and, when we came back home, we were kissing and it was getting pretty heated and he almost said it, but I cut him off, told him it was getting late, and sent him on his way."

Hermione's eyebrows were still raised. "I'd have thought he'd already said it. I mean, I thought the two of you had probably already...well, you know..."

Ginny bit her lip. "We haven't," she let her friend know. "I mean, we've nearly gotten there a few times, but I think we'd both like to be on more stable ground before getting there."

Hermione looked at her best friend questioningly. "Are you trying to tell me you're not happy, Ginny? Because your body language is telling me that you want out and you want it soon."

Ginny sighed as she stood up from the sofa that she and Hermione were sharing.

"Harry is outstanding, Hermione...he's cute, and smart, and charming, and loyal... and I think I fall more in love with him every single day. At this point, I even love that he's sneaky and obsessed with being neat and he gets jealous easily...and, in any other guy, I wouldn't have tolerated that, but with Harry it just seems like all those quirks are suddenly what I've always looked for in a guy."

"Then what's the problem?"

"The problem," Ginny stated, "Is that I've never felt this way about anyone. I remember how I felt when I was standing on the altar with Dean, Hermione, and it doesn't even compare to what I feel when I see Harry after a few hours; the feelings I felt when I was sleeping with Dean are nothing compared to what I feel when Harry gently touches my hand, and Harry's kisses drive me to another universe. That's the problem! Each second I spend with Harry makes me see clearer that he's the one I should have waited for but it's impossible, it can never be!"

Hermione smiled at her friend sympathetically.

"So what are you gonna do?" the older woman asked.

"Well, I have a feeling that, as of tomorrow, we might be apart for a while and I don't think he's going to take it well at all..."

"Care to elaborate?"

Ginny bit her lip and explained the situation to Hermione.

* * *

><p><strong>27th March 2006<strong>

"You look gorgeous," Harry whispered in Ginny's ear as they both moved to the rhythm of the slow song that was being played.

All over England, small parties were being celebrated today, in honour of Albus Dumbledore, a brave man who killed Voldemort exactly 24 years before, sacrificing his own life to rid the Wizarding world of such a horror. Normally, Harry would have celebrated this day with his parents at a small party with their closest friends, celebrating not only the victory of Dumbledore, but the survival of Harry, who could have died that same night. However, this year Harry had put his foot down and asked to be able to celebrate a small party with _his _closest friends; yet, everyone really knew what Harry wanted, to celebrate it with Ginny without having to involve his parents.

"Please," Ginny laughed it off. "If I look gorgeous I really don't know what you'd call your sister."

Harry laughed and moved Ginny around slightly so he could see his younger sister. The beautiful red-head was dancing with her husband, the magical King of Spain, in the corner of the room. She was wearing a long beige dress that contrasted with the tanned skin she had acquired from her new country; nevertheless, Harry could see under the obvious beauty and he had immediately realized that his sister was tired and slightly unhappy; her hazel eyes didn't shine like they used to, and she seemed to have lost that spirit that he had always considered a rival to Ginny's. The prince didn't realize what could be wrong with his sister, though; she was married to the man she loved, living in a beautiful place and she had Annabel, a precious daughter that had turned a year old a few days before.

"She looks beautiful too," Harry told Ginny. "But you are really glowing tonight, that colour looks wonderful on you."

Ginny laughed as she looked down at her camel dress. "I thought you liked me best in emerald," she let him know with a smile.

Harry twisted her around and brought her even nearer to him, their lips so close that they were almost kissing. "You drive me _mad _in emerald."

Harry leaned in and kissed her softly, but the second the song ended; Ginny pulled away and started moving towards the table were the drinks were being served. Harry followed her and asked for a drink for both of them.

They both took their drinks and Ginny led him into the room that was next to the big salon where the party was taking place.

"Are you alright?" Harry asked her, but before he could finish the sentence, she had already started talking.

"I'm leaving for Angola tomorrow," she told him quickly, scared of his reaction.

Harry looked at her dumbfounded, not knowing how to react.

"Don't worry," Ginny reassured him. "It won't be in the most dangerous part."

Harry finally regained himself. "Are you trying to tell me you're leaving for the Wizarding part of Angola _tomorrow_? The part which is in war as we speak?"

"You must have supposed I would go...you knew about the Quiddich tournament they're holding..."

"Yes," Harry agreed. "I knew perfectly that a bunch of idiots were going to place themselves in the immediate line of danger to fight in a war were they don't belong and I was ready to discourage you if you decided you wanted to go, but since you didn't say anything..."

"It'll only be a few days, Harry..." Ginny let him know. "Besides, I won't be fighting; I'll only be playing Quidditch!"

"Playing quiddich in a place where a dark wizard, one that could very well be more dangerous than Voldemort himself, has banned that sport! Listen to yourself, Ginny!" Harry's tone gained volume as he tried to get his girlfriend to listen.

However, Ginny wasn't taking it. "How can you be such a hypocrite? You went there not a month ago to direct some troops who were fighting for freedom! Why can't I go? Because I'm a woman?"

Harry took Ginny's hand and tried to calm down. "I wasn't in danger, Gin...You can't just go there and ask for a fight just to play a damn sport!"

"It's not about the Quidditch!" Ginny fought back, taking her hand away from Harry's. "You know very well that it's more than that! I want to fight for freedom too! Do you know how many Quidditch teams have had to give up? Some of the players are friends of mine!"

Harry breathed in and took a sip of his drink, begging his breathing to go back to normal and calm down. "Fine," he told her, accepting the issue. "But I'm going with you."

Ginny raised her eyebrows. "And how do you suppose you are going to do that? Just apparate to Angola and state that you are there to protect me or some other idiotic idea? You can't leave England, Harry, that's not an option. I'll just see you when I get back..."

Harry, however, was having none of that. "Ginny, I think by now, you know me enough to see that this is not how I work. You can't just tell me that you're leaving tomorrow and expect me to be okay with it..."

"Well, you're gonna have to," Ginny snapped at him, turning around so that she could head out. Yet, Harry took hold of her arm and stopped her from leaving.

"Well, I'm not..." Harry snapped at her just as forcefully. "I'm your boyfriend; we have to talk this through..."

Ginny sighed. "Harry, I'm who I am and I'm not going to stop doing that because the Prince of bloody Wales has taken a liking to me..."

Harry hated to admit it but that stung. "A _liking_? What the hell is wrong with you? I lo-"

"Don't!" Ginny shouted, not allowing him to finish his declaration. "Don't do this now, Harry, I'm begging you..."

"No! It's me who's begging you to listen to me. I'm starting to realize that you and I are it, Ginny...I've never..."

"Please, Harry! Stop! I can't hear this now...please, we'll talk when I come back!"

Harry gulped slightly and ran a hand through his hair. He paced for a few seconds before looking up at Ginny angrily.

"I won't let you leave," he told her. "I'll send a message to all the apparating points and tell them that they are not to let you pass through..."

Ginny grabbed his arm and looked at him forcefully. "If you do that you won't be seeing me again, ever..."

Harry held her stare for a few seconds, clenching his jaw and trying hard to break her cool, but he wasn't able to and so, defeated, he took his leave.

* * *

><p><strong>7th April 2006<strong>

"She's such a brat!" Harry told Hermione, who looked at him disapprovingly.

"She's not a brat, your- Harry...She's just used to doing what she wants because she hasn't had anyone to hold her back in a long time..."

Harry sighed. "I'm not trying to hold her back...I'm just trying to keep her safe..."

And that moment, Elizabeth entered the room, holding a beautiful baby girl with tanned skin and gorgeous brown curly locks falling down her small back.

"Is he still worrying over Ginny, Hermione?" the young-woman asked her.

Hermione sighed. "I'm afraid he is, your Highness...Either way, the queen has called for me, so, I must leave. Don't give it so much thought, Harry, please...you're making me worried too."

And with that, Hermione left, leaving the two siblings and the baby alone. Harry smiled and took hold of his niece with extreme care.

"Are you seriously worried?" the red-head asked her brother, who looked back at her.

Harry shrugged. "There's been a few attacks, Liz, but, truth be told, I think he can hold her own. I'm more worried about the discussion we had before she left...I think she doesn't want to continue with this...I think she's had enough of the drama and the stress and she just doesn't want to hear me out..."

Elizabeth touched her baby's cheek gently while thinking about her brother's dilemma. "And what is it that you want to say so badly?"

"I don't know," Harry confessed. "That I love her? That she means more to me than anyone ever has? That when I'm with her nothing else matters?"

The young woman couldn't help but laugh. "Hold it, Romeo...I think you're getting a little ahead of yourself. Do you realize who you are? You can't just marry anyone, Harry; you know that... Ginny is fantastic; she's beautiful, smart, and polite, but... she's a commoner, she's a Quidditch player, she knows nothing of protocol and, to make things worse, she's divorced, Harry..."

"I don't care about any of that, Liz..."

"Yes, I know that, Harry. However, you're the future King of England, I'm afraid you can't afford to not care..."

"And what am I supposed to do, Elizabeth?" Harry asked angrily. "Go looking for a noble woman who suits me? You were lucky...you found Federico and Federico found you, but we both know it could have gone another way..."

At the louder tones, Annabel started to squirm a little and her mother took her from her uncle's arms.

"I'm not saying it's fair, Harry...I'm saying that it's the way it is. You keep saying that I was lucky, but haven't you ever thought that maybe I just didn't look any harder because I knew Federico was the best possibility I had?"

Harry ran a hand though his hair. "But you love Fede?"

"Of course I love Fede, he's my husband and the father of my daughter, but that doesn't take away the fact that I could be going to healer training, dating Marcus Finnegan and going out to clubs every Saturday night," Liz snapped at her brother. "If you love her, then you might have to start deciding if she's more important to you than your family and the crown, because, although I wish you could, I doubt that you can have both..."

Harry put an arm around his sister and patted his niece's head softly.

"Are you ok, Elizabeth? I've noticed you've been a little off, but I..."

Elizabeth looked at him with innocent eyes. "I'm fine; I just... the stress of everything is getting to me... Federico is constantly out and it seems like the people are already expecting me to have another baby and... I feel like I'm a useless queen that does nothing, that just sits around the palace all day, bearing children and knitting or something..."

Harry was about to comfort his sister when Hermione's steps were heard running towards them.

"Harry!" the woman shouted when she reached them. "An explosion was conjured at the Quidditch stadium...Ginny was playing."

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><p>AN: Don't hate me, really please...I'll try to update ASAP but i can't make any promises. I didn't send the previews last time and I really am extremely sorry...I just realizes right now, when I'm about to post the chapter but next chapter will be likes all the rest...al those who review will get a PM about 4 or 5 days before the chapter is out with a small preview :D


	9. Chapter 8

**A/N: Once again sorry for the delay but you should be happy because, if Spanish literature before the civil war wasn't so boring, this would be up a lot later. No, now seriously, I really have been busy as hell and, to make things worse, I've spend over two week stuck in bed with gastroenteritis so...yeah...not at all nice. Either way, I'll just let you know that Doodsbedreiging is the bad dark lord in Angola and, in case some of you are wondering, it means 'death threat' in a language...I know it's not African but I'm not too sure which language it is, however, I thought it was cool**

* * *

><p><strong>9th April 2006<strong>

**Her **eyelids felt heavy and, as she lifted her arm to rub the sleep out of them, she felt as if she was being punched. She ached all over and, what was worst, she couldn't remember why.

The last thing she could think of was stealing the ball from Angelina and scoring through the middle hoop as Gina managed to spot the snitch nearby. She recalled thinking that they had won the match and they were getting all the attention they wanted but, after that, she couldn't remember a thing, everything was pitch black.

Slowly, she made an effort to open her eyes and tried her best not to freak out about not knowing where she was; the only thing she could see was the white ceiling above her and she could hear the distinct sound of a medical machine, which was beeping softly. However, she could also distinguish small snores coming from her right and so, when she managed to turn her head completely, she wasn't surprised to see Harry in a comfortable looking chair, with his head bent over his shoulder and a worried frown decorating his sleeping face.

He wasn't looking his best, she had to admit. He hadn't shaved in a few days and his hair was even messier than usual; she would bet her firebolt that he didn't smell all too good either. Ginny suddenly started acknowledging her own feelings. Her whole body felt almost robotic, like she couldn't move freely, and her tongue tasted sour; she was dying for water.

"Harry," she whispered, hoping the dark-haired-man would help her, "Harry..."

However, as Harry opened his eyes, the distinguishable voice of her mother was heard coming near and the black-haired man quickly took out something from his bag and, in a matter of seconds, he didn't seem to be there anymore.

"Ginevra!" Molly Weasley shouted as she saw her daughter's chocolate-brown eyes opening. "Oh, Merlin, I'm so happy you're okay."

The plump woman couldn't help herself as she sat on her daughter's bed and touched her softly, thanking the stars that she was finally awake and out of danger.

"W-"Ginny tried to speak. "Wa...Water..."

"There you are, pumpkin," her father's peaceful voice came from her right, helping her up and allowing her to taste the much wanted liquid. In a matter of seconds, before she could finish the small glass of water, a doctor had come in and given her a quick examination, telling her she should go back to sleep as soon as she saw the rest of the visitors. Her empty room was suddenly filled up with people to the point that they were looking over each other's shoulders to sneak a peek at Ginny.

"Aunty Ginny, you look bad..." Victoire's squeaky voice let Ginny know that she must look as terrible as she felt.

Bill told him daughter off. "I'm sorry, Ginny... Fleur has to stay home with Dominique and Louis and this little brat wouldn't have it if she' couldn't see her favourite aunt."

Ginny smiled weakly at her brother and then tried to put on a brave face for her niece. "So, Vicky, I look ugly, do I?"

Victoire shook her head with rotundity. "Not Ugly! Just sick...your mouth is bad..."

Ginny sighed, realizing now that what had gotten in the way of her drinking was a plaster that had been set on her upper lip.

"Why haven't they fixed me up?" she asked Hermione, who was looking at her with a sympathetic expression.

"They were going to, but...Clorentine came and said that no magic was to be performed on you until you brain activity became normal again. For a while there we thought you might not wake up..."

"Clorentine?" Ginny asked, trying to stand up a little with her mother's help.

Ron then opened his mouth to explain. "Pierre Clorentine...best healer known to treat serious blows to the head. The P- The minister wanted you to have the best treatment you could..."

Ginny eyed him carefully, but decided to leave it for later when she realized two of her brothers were missing; the first one was Charlie, but that didn't surprise Ginny, he probably couldn't get away from work; however, the first absence _did_ worry her, as did the distraught expression on Fred's face.

"Where's George?" Ginny suddenly asked quickly, seeing the image of her brother sitting in the stands of the Quidditch pitch run through her mind. The beeping sound in the machine suddenly went quicker. "He's okay, isn't he? He didn't get hurt? What happened at the stadium? Why am I here? What's going on?"

Arthur Weasley took his daughter's hand and tried to calm her down, worried about her health.

"Georgie _is_ fine, sweetheart," her mother told her calmly. "He's a little beaten around the edges but he didn't even need to stay the night at the hospital."

"An air-bomb was thrown at the stadium by those crazy slaves of Doods-whatever he's called," Ron, who was holding on to his wife's hand, told her.

"Doodsbedreiging," Percy told him quietly, holding Audrey to his side.

"It doesn't matter," Ron told him seriously. "Either way, he killed an awful lot of civilians...George was only a few metres away from the stands that fell completely apart. We could have lost him easily, but he was lucky..."

Ginny breathed in but only felt relieved for a second since Fred still hadn't opened his mouth. "So...why isn't he here?" Ginny asked slowly, feeling like she already knew the answer. So she looked straight at Fred, asking for a quick and truthful response. "She's not dead, is she?"

Fred gulped and shook his head, allowing Ginny to dry off the uncharacteristic tears that were running down her cheeks. "She's pretty bad," Fred finally spoke up, but she's gonna be aright...at least her body will be."

Ginny looked around her, asking for a truthful answer that would let her know what had happened to the dark-skinned beauty that was likely to become her sister-in-law someday.

Her mother tucked a few hairs behind her daughter's ear and smiled sympathetically at her.

"It turns out Angelina was pregnant, Ginny..." she told her daughter sadly.

Ginny's eyes opened wide. "And she and George still decided to go to...?"

"They didn't know," Fred told her. "They were only told after...They told George because Angie was losing lots of blood and he kept on asking, and I just...I was just standing there and didn't know what to do because I was angry at him and now it all just seems so stupid..."

Ginny looked down at her hands. "But...she's going to be fine, right? They're both awake and safe?"

Bill nodded as he tried to comfort the only present twin.

"Has anyone...apart from the civilians, I mean..." Ginny asked carefully, not sure if she could accept the worst.

"Rory Meister," Percy told her. "The other team's keeper didn't make make it. You almost didn't make it...the healer's didn't know how you'd react until a day ago or so...You were only meters away from her."

"A few players aren't really in the best shape," Hermione also let her know. "They all look like they're gonna make it, but some of them won't be playing again."

Ginny suddenly looked down at her own body, asking, with her gestures, one of the fundamental questions.

"It'll take a while, Squirt," Bill told her. "And maybe you'll never be able to play as well, but it doesn't look like you won't be able to play again."

Ginny breathed in.

"But Gwenog won't," Audrey told her sister-in-law. "Her legs...they've had to build them again, I even participated in the operation, but she won't be able to play ever again...she was so close to the ground that everyone thought she had already landed, but she fell and no one helped her, so..."

"Where is she?" Ginny asked, feeling her heart break for her friend, her surrogate sister.

"_I'm affraiid that does not matter, Ms. Weasley...You still must not move,_" a French healer, who she supposed was that 'Pierre', told her. "_You weel heve to abandon the room...Ms- Weasley needs her rest..." _

So, little by little, the Weasley evacuated her room, leaving her alone with doctor, who, when everyone had left, spoke up again.

"_You too, your highness, you too..._"

And Ginny, stunned, watched how Harry's perfect black shoes showed from underneath the invisibility cloak he had told her about so many times but never gotten around to showing her.

* * *

><p><strong>10th April 2006<strong>

**When** she woke up it must have been late at night or really early in the morning, because she couldn't see a thing in the room. Yet, she _could _recognise the small snoring sounds that the person in the chair was making, exactly like he was when she woke up the first time.

She moved her hand softly, trying to wordlessly turn the light on, but her magical reserves were low after the accident and she wasn't able to.

Suddenly, as if he had noticed she had stopped sleeping, Harry also awoke and looked her way. He took his wand and two small candles lit up, giving enough light to see but not too much so that it would become uncomfortable. Now, she could see that he looked better than this morning, he had shaved and he looked a little less like a tramp, but the bags under his eyes were darker than ever.

"How long has it been since you haven't slept in a proper bed?" Ginny asked him, shuffling slightly to the right of the big bed she'd been given, a size that she had never been graced with before and she had a feeling that she only had it because Harry had asked for it, just like that fantastic French doctor.

Harry shrugged, standing up and going to sit beside Ginny on the bed. "Since Hermione came in running and told me that Liz that you were probably dead..."

Ginny bit her lip and gestured for Harry to take his shoes off and lay on the bed with her. She had a feeling that, if he had been less tired, he would have never agreed to that, but he _was _incredibly tired and that bed looked inviting.

"I'm not dead; I'm here...I'm okay..." she told him, leaning her head on his chest and kissing it softly.

Harry gulped. "At first no one could find you," he explained. "Your brother had been too busy with his girlfriend and no one had owned up to stopping your fall so everyone thought you had been caught right in the middle of it...that the bomb had just destroyed you..."

"But they found me..." Ginny guessed.

"_I _found you..." Harry told her, making Ginny open her eyes wide. "I took an urgent portkey secretly and started looking for you with the other volunteers...You had been buried under pieces of the stands that fell. It seems that you protected yourself subconsciously when you started to fall and, in turn, protected your body from being squashed, but if you hadn't...if your bother had been slightly more damaged by the actual bomb or...you wouldn't have made it..."

Ginny sighed. "It was core magic, from the broom...Remus taught me it in third year," she confessed. "I've used it more that once without realizing it; it's saved me a few times."

However, Harry didn't seem to be all too interested. He was looking at the ceiling absently, without really knowing what to say to the woman who had almost made him lose his mind these past few days.

"I've been feeling so angry at you," he admitted. "And at myself, and at everyone...I just, all I could think about was the fight we had and how I was right but I felt so horrible for it...I wanted to shout at you so bad, even hurt you like you've been hurting me these past few days, but," he spoke when she looked up and met his eyes, which were staring right into hers. "All I can think about is that you're okay and you're breathing and looking at me with those beautiful brown eyes and...I didn't know if I was ever going to see those eyes again..."

Ginny almost gasped as she saw a small teardrop making its way down his beautiful face but she didn't, she carefully moved towards it and kissed it away.

"I'm sorry I made you go through that, but I...I felt it was something I had to do...I wanted to be an Auror, you know? I wanted to fight all this bloody evil and help out, but then Gwenog took me in and Dean said it was too dangerous, and I loved Quiddich anyway...but this felt like a chance, like a way to help in our own way. Nevertheless, now Rory's dead and so is my brother's baby, my niece or nephew...and all those innocent people..." Ginny cried silently onto Harry's grey's t-shirt.

Harry ran a hand through her hair. "You've helped," he confessed. "Multiple countries have decided to ally and try and kill Doodsbedreiging...I don't know if it was worth it, but you did manage something, it wasn't all in vain."

Ginny looked up at him, thanking him with her eyes. "Thank you, Harry...I'm sorry at how I spoke to you...I just...It's getting to be too much, and you telling me I couldn't do something was just what topped it all..."

Harry sighed. "I'm sorry too...but you scared me and the way you were talking...one would think that we were two idiots having a fling that I was taking too seriously and you couldn't wait to get out off... And I know that that really doesn't matter anymore, but it hurt..."

"I don't want to talk about this now, Harry..." she told him truthfully. "I know you're ready to let it all out and, in a way, so am I but, I'm scared...I'm scared of everything that could happen and I'm not ready to let go of that fear."

Harry tried to soothe her. "I'm here, Ginny...even if you don't see it right now, if we stay together, there will never be anything that we have to fear..."

For a few moments, Ginny let herself believe him.

* * *

><p><strong>"You<strong> look horrible..." Ginny told her best friend as she walked into her room.

Gwenog Jones turned her head around to look at Ginny Weasley with a scowl on her face. "I'll let you know, you don't look too well either, red-head..."

Ginny smiled sympathetically and, with the help of a crutch, made her way to Gwegnog's bed and sat on it.

"They told me you were dead when I woke up," Gwenog told her. "I really wasn't all that bad once they gave me the pain-killer potion. After all, the only thing that I destroyed were my legs. Either way, when I woke up they said you couldn't be found, that the bomb had probably caught you directly and blown you up in a thousand pieces.

Ginny shrugged. "Harry found me...I had only been covered by all the mess..."

"Lucky you to have a prince looking out for you...How are your legs? Will you be able to play?"

Ginny shrugged once again. "Not for a while, but, yeah...I probably will be able to get back on a broom, but I'm afraid my golden days are pretty over." Ginny was silent for a second until she and Gwen crossed stares.

"I'm so sorry, Gwen...I really wish it had been me," Ginny told her sincerely, knowing that Gwenog's whole life was Quiddich.

Gwenog shook her head. "Don't be stupid...I only had a year or two more left in me, anyway," the dark-skinned woman confessed. "I've already been offered the position of coach of the team."

"Oh! Gwen! That's fantastic!" Ginny exclaimed happily.

However, Gwen didn't smile. "I declined."

Ginny tried, she tried really hard not to let her jaw fall wide open but it was simple unavoidable.

"What are you talking about? You've always said that, once you were doing playing, you'd love to coach...maybe it's come a little sooner than you expected but...in the end, it's what you wanted..." Ginny tried to understand.

"It _is_ what I want...I can't give up Quiddich, you know that but...I thought maybe, I'd take a few months out of England...maybe I'll train an American team or a Spanish one...Maybe I'll let myself actually fall in love properly for once..."

Ginny smiled. "Do you think there's actually a man out there you'll be able to stand?"

Gwenog laughed. "Maybe I'll just try for women this time around."

The red-head punched her teammate, or old teammate, on the shoulder playfully.

"I told them you'd be coach until you get better," Gwenog told Ginny. "Gabriella isn't doing too good; she hasn't had anything permanent damaged, but her lungs weren't working well under so much smoke and it seems she might have to take some time to recover..."

The so-called red flash shook her head slowly.

"I think I might be accompanying you in your trip," she told her. "Another country doesn't sound too bad...as long as it's one were no one's getting killed by a crazy dark lord."

Gwen looked at the younger girl with her lips drawn in a straight line.

"You can't leave England because you're too scared to put an end to this nonsense, Gin," Gwenog almost shouted at her friend. It was frustrating and, truthfully, it was getting irritating even before her life was completely turned upside down.

Ginny looked down for a second and then stood from the cot, getting ready to leave. "I'm sorry," he mumbled. "I guess it's pretty horrible to be moaning about such idle issues after all this."

The older woman shook her head and leaned forward, grabbing the arm of the woman she had come to think of as a sister, and making her sit back down.

"You're all I've got, Gin...You're the first bloody person to visit me in this room apart from all those idiots who only wondered if I'd be able to play again...I know you well enough to know that, if this wasn't important, you wouldn't bring it up twenty times a day. I'm sorry if I'm a bit...irritable."

Ginny almost felt like crying but she stopped herself. "He _saved_ me, Gwen...he took a portkey without caring who could recognise him and searched for hours until he found me. The bloody Prince of England is in love with me and I'm head over arse in love with him too, like I've never ever been before."

Gwen looked at the girl in awe. "You love him?" she asked, stunned. "As in, real, kill for, eternal love."

Ginny shut her eyes and buried her head in her hands. "He's on my mind all the time, he's the only one that can truly make me smile, he's the one I want to see when I wake up every morning and when I get to bed every night...How long did it take him, Gwen? To make me break my rules? To make me give up my principles? To get me to open up my heart for him without even doubting it seriously? I don't just love him, Gwen...I loved Dean, I even got close to loving Lee at some point; but with Harry it's just different...It's like every mistake I've done, everything that's wrong with me...It's suddenly all perfectly right because without those mistakes I wouldn't be me and he loves me just the way I am."

"And, yet, he's the future King of England and you're a divorced Quidditch player..." Gwen brought down the mood and made Ginny fall straight back into reality.

"Exactly, Gwen, he's the future King of England and it just...it can't be. You don't know how much I wish we were just a boy and a girl, but we're not...we're just two really screwed up individuals that have gone for the most impossible love we could find."

Gwen looked down. "You know I don't believe in true love, and the one, and all that shit; but, Merlin... Imagine that he really is the only guy who you can be with forever because, let's face it, not everyone can handle you... What then? Are you meant to be miserable forever just because he was born into that family? It hardly seems fair..."

Ginny shook her head and looked down and Gwen's new legs pointedly. "This life isn't fair, Gwenog."

"Ginny," Gwen muttered suddenly, looking at the door, but Ginny continued.

"No, Gwen Listen... I love him, I really truly do...but by keeping this up, by giving him hopes, I'm just setting us both up for what will probably be the ugliest breakup of all time so...I'll break it off the next time I see him and, once you're better, you and me will go off to Spain and go back to mindless flings and enjoy ourselves like the two single women that we are doomed to be for the rest of our lives.

"Gin..." Gwen spoke again, still with her eyes fixated on the door.

"Please don't...I've made up my mind and that's it...Me and Harry...we're done..."

Ginny leaned in and gave Gwen a friendly kiss on the cheek before leaving though the door.

What she didn't know was that, moments before, Harry Potter had been standing at that same white door.

* * *

><p><strong>"Who's<strong> there?" Ron Weasley's voice shouted into his only sister's small flat. Someone was whistling and a few lights were on. The red-headed man was starting to get scared when he saw the Prince of England coming out of his sister's bedroom.

"Hey," Harry spoke shyly, closing the door behind him. "I was just making sure her bedroom wasn't a mess so she could move around properly...she's truly a disaster when it comes to picking up her stuff."

Ron nodded carefully, not sure if he should be star-struck or acting protective. He had seen the Prince before once or twice but they'd never been introduced even if the man _was _very friendly with his wife and even friendlier with his younger sister.

Finally he decided he's leave the star-struck phase for later and he'd go into protective mood.

"I know what she's like," Ron told him rudely. "She's my sister."

Harry gulped a little but continued being polite by stepping towards Ron and putting his hand out; Luckily, Ron shook it.

"Ronald Weasley," the red head spoke up.

Harry smiled. "Harry..."

"I know who you are," Ron cut him off. "Everyone knows who you are."

Harry took back his hand, nodding softly, scared to say anything else.

"How did you get in?" Ron asked. "I thought the wards only allowed the Weasleys, Remus, Tonks, Teddy and Gwen..."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, well, they kind of allow me in too...I'm her..."

"Yeah, I know who you are," Ron spoke again, acting almost a little too much like a git. "You're the one guy under 40 that I thought I'd never have to worry about when it came to Ginny...Funny how wrong we can be sometimes."

Harry breathed in. "I'm sorry, have I done something?" he asked the redhead. "I kind of feel like you're attacking me somehow."

Ron finally relaxed a little and breathed in, leaving the prince standing there and going towards the kitchen. He opened the fridge and took out two butterbeers, throwing one to Harry.

"I'm going a little over the top, aren't I?" he asked the famous man with a small chuckle. "I'm sorry," Ron apologized. "I just feel the need to do it with every guy Ginny dates."

Harry also managed to laugh a little. "You must've been very busy in school, then," Harry commented. "Knowing what she's like..."

"Ha," Ron laughed. "Funny enough, not really...once she was old enough to date, my mate Dean got a hold of her and then never really let her go...well, not until..."

"They got divorced," Harry finished for him, surprising Ron a little.

"Yeah," Ron spoke, leaning against the counter. "And, after that, she's dated around but Lee was the only one whom she stayed with a little longer and, there's been no one else later...well, no one except for you, of course..."

Harry found Ron's kind but mocking tone a little disturbing.

"Hermione says you've really fallen for her..." Ron spoke before taking a sip of his drink.

Harry shrugged. "It's pretty hard not to...your sister is, well...stubborn, feisty, strong-headed, beautiful...she's perfect in her own amazing way."

Ron rolled his eyes. "Yeah, she provoked those feelings in the majority of the Hogwarts male population. But, don't worry, mate..." Ron spoke, coming nearer to Harry and patting him on the shoulder. "In the end, they all learn to give up on her..."

Harry, once again disturbed by Ron's words, made a move to ask him what he meant exactly; however, before he could do such thing, Ginny apparated into the living room, helped by Hermione.

"Harry!" she exclaimed with a smile as she saw him. "Ron? What are you doing here?"

However, it was Hermione who answered.

"I sent him here to make sure the place was okay for you to stay in...I know how much of a mess you can be," the brunette told her sister-in-law. "I didn't know Harry would be here..."

"Yeah," Ginny spoke quietly. "Neither did I..."

For a second, Ginny and Harry shared a look that told them both that trouble was arising; meanwhile, the four occupants of the room continued in deep silence.

"Maybe we should go," Hermione finally said, grabbing Ron's arm.

"Thank you for the help, guys," Ginny said respectfully, sharing a look with Hermione that assured the woman that it was okay to leave.

In a matter of seconds, they were both gone.

For a few moments, the couple stood in complete silence until Ginny made a move to place her crutches properly and Harry moved towards her, ready to help her.

Once they were standing face to face. The words started to flow.

"I thought you were at a meeting with the King," Ginny said quickly.

"I got out of it," was Harry's rapid response.

"You didn't need to..."

"I wanted to..."

For a second there was a pause until both of them spoke at the same time.

"We need to talk," they both said in unison.

The air suddenly felt heated and both Ginny and Harry didn't really know how to say the next word. They were both thinking of the same thing, however, how much they loved each other and just how much they didn't want it to end. It seemed stupid to Ginny that it was even this hard...she had left Dean at the first sign of trouble, but she had to admit that that was a special case since Dean was the kind of man who never brought up a reason to fight until, of course, they started living together. How could it be that she had fallen for this man? How could she really feel like she didn't have the strength to deal with being away from him?

"I heard you..." Harry suddenly said, taking Ginny away from her thoughts.

She shook her head, confused. "What do you mean?"

"Don't get mad," he warned before answering. "At one I got an hour off and I wanted to see you at the hospital. You weren't in your room and the nurse told me you had gone to see a friend so I guessed you'd gone to visit Gwenog and...I was going to go into the room when I heard you speaking about...about me, about breaking it off...and Gwenog saw me and tried to warn you but you didn't stop talking..."

Ginny really didn't know what to say now. Everything she had been thinking about a second ago was pointless because he had heard her...he now knew she was going to leave him and now he wouldn't want to be with her even if she changed her mind.

"You weren't meant to hear that, Harry..." Ginny told him quietly.

Harry shrugged, suddenly looking a little angry. "Why not? Doesn't it just make this easier for you? Now you can avoid the pointless excuses and reasons..."

"This could never be easy for me, Harry! How do you...How can you say that? It's the hardest thing I will ever have to do, but I wouldn't plan to do it if it wasn't what's right!"

"I don't believe you," Harry interrupted her, looking down at her brown eyes that were now burning fiercely. "You've wanted out for ages..."

"I should've never gone _in _in the first place!" Ginny shouted, her spirit growing. "I should've avoided all this mess!"

Harry looked hurt. "You regret it?" He asked her seriously. "Are you telling me you regret the last four months? Because if you seriously mean that, there's no point in fighting for you...because I never even had you in the first place..."

"I...I don't regret it, Harry," she said a little quieter, trying to calm down but not quite succeeding. "These last few months...It's been like...like something out of someone else's life...You've made me feel like I'm not damaged, like I can love without hurting; like I could really be happy after everything that happened...like, maybe, there's a life out of Quidditch for me..."

"Then why this?" Harry asked her, exasperated. "If you really mean all of that...Why on Earth would you want to break it off?

Ginny shook her head at him, wondering if he really didn't see the answer. "Because you're the bloody Prince of England, Harry! That's why! Because I'm a stupid divorced chaser that has nothing to offer, and you and I can't...we just can't be together...it's not in anybody's plan, don't you see!"

Harry took a step back, running a hand through his hair.

"So, it all comes down to that, doesn't it?" he asked her. "It all comes down to who I am...has it ever been anything else for you? Have I ever actually been 'only' Harry?"

At this, Ginny couldn't help but take all her strength and put it into a slap that crossed Harry's face, without him expecting it.

"You've _never_ been anything other than Harry to me!" she shouted at him with rage. "If you had I wouldn't have ever started this...If I'm here right now, fighting with myself it's because Harry James Potter is the most wonderful man I've ever met...it's because he's stubborn and strong-headed and he doesn't let anyone tell him what to do and just seeing him makes me melt because those glasses and that black hair, and those emerald eyes make me go crazy! It's because every time I look at you I can't help the need to smile, and every time I kiss you I feel like nothing in the world matters, like all my problems could evaporate...Merlin, Harry, if I'm here now, killing my own feelings and condemning myself to a life of seeing you everywhere and not being able to touch you it's because...it's because I love you! I love you in a way that I've never ever known-"

But Ginny didn't get to finish because, before she could, Harry had smashed his lips against hers and lifted her into his arms, making her drop the crutches onto the ground.

"I love you too," Harry told her with a small smile before kissing her again, taking them both towards Ginny's bedroom.

* * *

><p><strong>11th April 2006<strong>

**Once** again, it must have been early morning when she awoke. Yet, today she wasn't in a hospital cot...she was in her own bed, her naked body curled up to Harry's.

She had never felt so contrived about anything in her whole life. In a way, last night was the best night she had ever lived, and yet, it may have also been the worst mistake she had ever made. She loved Harry and he loved her but, in the end, what did that actually change? Yes, the answer was simple and it was also sad because it didn't change anything, it changed nothing. Nothing at all. They still couldn't be together; it still wasn't a possibility, no matter how much they might love each other.

She couldn't go through it again, though. She couldn't look him in the eye and tell him that it was over because she wasn't capable of leaving if he was looking at her with such love and devotion. For a second she wondered if maybe this could work, if he could give up the throne and they could both run away to another country or, maybe...maybe his parents would understand that they loved each other, maybe they'd realize that this modern society would say yes to a commoner, even if she was divorced.

Nevertheless, the idea quickly left her head. She had seen his doomed relationships again and again, hadn't she? She had seen him have to give up girl after girl because they weren't proper. How could she ever get through that? Some of those girls would be much better suited to be a royal than she was and yet they didn't pass the test so, how could she?

Slowly and quietly, she untangled herself from Harry and, she conjured her robe and some parchment and a quill and, then, she began to write.

* * *

><p><strong>When<strong> Harry awoke and reached for Ginny, he was only able to feel the softness of her sheet and, when he stretched a little more, the hardness of a piece of parchment.

His emerald eyes opened to the new day filled with worry. "Ginny?" He shouted into the flat, expecting a response but not getting any. It didn't take him long to see the envelope that he had touched before and realize that his name was written on it with Ginny's handwriting.

Slowly, fearing the contents, he opened up and started reading.

_I'm not good with words, Harry, I never have been, it's one of those things that you and I have in common but, even if words are hard...saying this to your face, looking you in the eye, would be much harder. _

_What I said last night was not a lie. I love you, I love you like I've never loved anyone, I've loved you in a way that I didn't know existed but, unfortunately, that doesn't change a thing. You are who you are, Harry, even if you've never really felt like a royal to me, and the idea that you and I could have a future together is incredible, and I mean that with every meaning of the word. You, better than me, know that you don't have the right to choose who you want, just like I know that, by getting divorced, I basically gave up the chance of having my happy ending. Like I said last night, I don't regret a thing and, although I know it will hurt, I really hope that you will manage to find the perfect woman for you._

_I know that this won't stop you from trying...I know you so well...but, please, don't come looking for me, asking me to continue what we've been doing, because it's leading to nowhere and it's beginning to really hurt. I wish things were different, Harry...you don't know how much, but one of us has to be sensible and you've forced me to be the one, so...let's both think and let's both realize that what we had going was a wonderful dream but, only that, a dream._

_I love you,_

_Your Gin_

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: Hope you enjoyed it, once again sorry for the delay, and sorry to anyone who might had wanted a little more detail about what went on during the night but I'm pretty sure we can all guess and this way I don't have to feel weird writing which I would really hate. Either way, please to review and I'll send the previews for the next chapter to everyone who does. **_


	10. Chapter 9 : Part I

**A/N: First of all, thank you for all the magnific reviews, I was overwhelmed by how many people reviewed and I'm really sorry that it took so long to update. Anyway, here's the first part of Chapter 9. Second of all, maybe some of you got confusing responses to your reviews or simply didn't get any response at all, if that's the case, I'm really sorry but, somehow, my internet went wonky and started doing weird things, I hope most of you got the preview at least. **

**17th April 2006**

"Nice of you to show up," Elizabeth judging tone greeted her brother, who had finally come to send her off properly, even if he was still in his pyjamas and his hair resembled a rat's nest.

Harry ignored the comment and moved towards one of Elizabeth's maids, who was holding his beautiful niece.

"I'm going to miss you, Annabel," he spoke into the baby's ear as he kissed her cheek. "You have to promise me you're going to be a good girl for mummy. Vale, pequeñaja?"

The little girl murmured something in Spanish as her dad picked her up. She should probably be speaking more by now, but the fact that each one of her parents and grandparents spoke to her in a different language, meant that it would take her a little longer to speak them all.

"I'm sorry I haven't been all that available in these weeks, hermano," the King of Spain spoke to his brother in law.

"No pasa nada, Fede. I get that you've been busy with all these diplomatic things. But I do want to talk to you...I'm thinking about taking Ginny to La Concha, so we'll definitely stop by in Madrid.

Both Hermione and Elizabeth looked at Harry in shock, but Harry simply laughed at them.

"I thought you and Ginny had..." Elizabeth started quietly, so as to stop their parent's from hearing. "I mean, you've been locked up in your room for days, I thought you were dealing with the separation."

Harry moved forward and hugged his sister. "I'm not letting her go, Liz, she knows that and I know that..."

"But Dad and Mum..." Liz tried to understand.

"I love Dad and Mum, and I love England, Elizabeth; but I can't stand the thought of any of them without Ginny by my side. I really don't care what I have to give up anymore," he told his sister sincerely.

"That's very brave of you, Harry," she told him. "And I'm really happy you've been able to find that, even if circumstances aren't in your favour."

Harry smiled and leaned in to whisper even quieter in his sister's ear. "You have that too, Lizzy...I remind you that every marriage goes through the terrible twos...I know everything would be much easier if we weren't who we are, but don't lie to yourself... you love Federico, you always have loved Federico and you don't regret marrying him or having Annabel. You know that just as well as I do."

Elizabeth pulled back, close to tears, and leaned in to give her brother one last big hug. She hugged Max too and finally said goodbye to her parents and Hermione before taking her leave.

* * *

><p>"She's leaving, you know?" Hermione told Harry as he walked out of his room, now properly dressed.<p>

He looked at her and arched an eyebrow. "What do you mean she's leaving?" he asked her, worry starting to build in him.

"She's decided to go off with Gwenog... Once her legs are okay to walk again, they both want to leave for Italy or Greece, to coach some lower division Quidditch teams.

Harry's jaw dropped a little and he felt the need to sit down in the closest chair.

"She's telling the family tonight, at dinner. I thought you deserved to know," Hermione told him. "Especially since you said you would be taking her to Spain and, I don't know... she seems to think that you two are over. She told me you talked it through and decided to part ways."

Harry couldn't help the ironic laugh that left his lips. "Yeah... more like she tricked me into thinking we were okay and then left before I woke up, with a simple note."

Hermione looked down. "She also said that she thought you'd try to get to her again, but since you didn't... she thought you understood."

"I was trying to give her time!" Harry retorted. "I just thought she'd appreciate my giving her a few days... I mean, I _did _stay at her apartment for hours after she left, hoping that she'd be back, but she didn't return, so I thought I'd just give her time to realize how stupid she was being."

"I wouldn't say she's being stupid," Max, who had just come in, retorted. "I would say she's being intelligent and noble... giving you up so you don't have to face problems."

"You're too young to understand, Max..." Harry snapped at his younger brother. However, the teenager was having none of it.

"No, Harry... You know what I'm _really _too young for? Being heir to the throne! And if you don't stop chasing this girl, it's going to fall on me," the younger boy almost shouted. "That wouldn't be fair on me, Harry... You _can't _do that to me!"

Harry sighed. "I can't let her leave, Max... you can't ask that of me. And if we all have to abdicate, let it be...I think Dad has a few cousins who wouldn't mind taking the throne off of our hands..."

There was a silence, followed by a strong voice that shocked them all. "Oh, indeed they'd love the throne... However, I really wouldn't like to see it go to them, Harry."

James Potter looked at his son steadily.

"Could you please leave us, Max, Hermione? I need to speak to the Prince alone."

The air was heavy and the conversation was not going to be pleasant.

* * *

><p>"I'm worried about you, Ginny," Molly Weasley's voice resounded in the room, which she walked up to her daughter and kissed her cheek softly.<p>

Ginny smiled as she continued washing the dishes magically from the kitchen chair. "I'm okay, Mum... it's just been a few hard days..."

Molly Weasley sat beside her daughter and took the girl's hands into her own, stopping her wand movements.

"Is this about the young man that you've been seeing? The one whom you won't talk about?" she asked her.

Ginny rolled her eyes.

"That's not an issue anymore, Mum, we're over...it was just too complicated..." Ginny spoke with a broken voice.

Molly caressed her daughter's cheek and smiled sympathetically. "I just hate seeing you like this, Ginny. I just want to see you happy, and I could swear that you were finally there a few months ago. I don't know who this man is, or why it's complicated but, sweetheart, if he makes you happy, isn't that worth the struggle?"

Suddenly Ginny couldn't deal with it anymore, so she looked down and tried hard to contain the tears. "Oh, God, Mum... I found him, you know? I found the one...I thought I didn't believe in those things, but now I know that there's no one like him out there, that he's the only one who matches me in a way I'd never felt before. And I've told Gwen, I've told Hermione, I've told him and now I'm telling you, but I don't know what to do because there really is no way for us to be together."

Ginny let her head fall into her mother's lap and the matriarch ran her fingers through the red hair. "Ginny, darling, I've told you before that I was apart from your dad for a while before we got married, remember? Do you remember how I told you that I almost got engaged to Jonathan Gerald and left your dad because, well... because he wasn't rich and your grandma just didn't approve of the Weasley family?"

"Yeah..." Ginny answered.

"I loved Jonathan, I can tell you that, and, if I'm not wrong, I think it must've been very similar to what you had with Dean... I felt safe, I felt loved and I felt like, if I just tried, everything would always be perfect. With your dad, though, it was so different... I felt like I couldn't go to sleep if he wasn't by my side, I wanted to tell him even the most stupid things and, when I tried to leave, because my mum threatened to put in a bad word at the Ministry for dad's father... I... he didn't let me; he wouldn't hear a word I would say. Your dad came to my parents' house and kissed me in front of them and told them he was going to marry me whether they liked it or not... lucky for us, they didn't have another option, since I was pregnant will Bill at the time."

Ginny smiled at the tale and for a second wondered what could have happened if she hadn't been on the potion these last few months, if she had allowed herself to get pregnant from that one night with Harry. If that had been the case she would probably be going crazy but, thinking about it, knowing that it hadn't happened, she almost wished she had all the crazy.

"I think that's the way I love Harry, Mum," Ginny let out before she could stop herself.

Her mother smiled. "So, Harry, huh? Am I getting anymore information?"

Ginny sighed with relief and shook her head. "Trust me Mum, it's better if you don't..."

* * *

><p>"If you had had to give up Mum, what would you have done?" Harry shouted at his father. "Would you have really left her? Married some pure blood you didn't love?"<p>

"Harry, come on... I know you, you're not in love with this girl... it's always the same, you always fall for the same trick and end up getting fed up of them a few weeks later..."

Harry tried to calm down, but found that he couldn't. "You know this time is different... You have to know this time is different. Mum knows this time is different; Max and Liz know... God, I think even the dog knows this time is different, so you must know it too. Ginny is not Cho, Dad."

"She's a divorced woman, Harry..."

"I don't care!"

A pregnant pause invaded the room as they both tried to breath.

"I kept your Mum at bay, told her not to worry and you promised me I wouldn't have to interfere..." James told his son.

"I told you I couldn't make any promises," was Harry's response.

"Harry James," the older man tried to reason. "You're the future king of England, and I know it's hard, but all I'm asking is for you to meet a few Princesses and I'm sure one of them will be perfect for you..."

Harry shook his head. "I've been with a lot of women, Dad, you know that... And that has made me see that there's one for me, just one... the one person that can make me happy with simply being there, who hates crying just as much as I hate seeing woman cry; who doesn't fear anything, who knows how to love with an open heart, and, especially, someone who can see past my crown, who has always conceived my title like a problem; who actually understands what I want and who, if the time came, would be willing to leave everything to be with me."

"Forget about it, Harry... We're not even talking about a normal commoner here...she's been with other men before you. Even more men that just her husband!"

"So have I been with several women... What's the difference? That she's a woman?" Harry retorted angrily.

James shook him. "No, the difference is that, once this thing comes out, no one's going to be scared of looking into every detail of her past and the people will lose their faith in the monarchy. We're not just a Muggle monarchy, Harry... we don't just rule as a representation of our country... we are born with power and with a wisdom that no one else has, no one else can rule England! You know that!"

"All I know, Dad, is that I love Ginny."

And with that, Harry left.

James took his hands to his head and sat down on the nearest chair, wondering what he could do about this. He had never heard Harry speak like that before, he couldn't deny that. His son had spoken almost the same words he had spoken to his father when the older man had been against his marriage with a Muggleborn; Harry had actually stated that Cho, a woman his son had never actually given up on, was nothing compared to Ginny... that meant something, and James wasn't going to deny that it did. However, he just didn't know how he was meant to go about this; Ginevra Weasley must be an amazing woman; after all, she was Molly and Arthur Weasley's daughter, and she had been able to capture his son's womanizing heart, but she was a divorced woman, who knew nothing of protocol and who wasn't made for life in a magical court.

"I can almost hear you thinking, James," Lily told her husband as she came into the room and placed her hands on her husband's shoulders. "Are you finally worried about this?"James huffed.

"Can you believe he'd consider abdicating for this girl? Abdicating! How could he do that? England's his country... the blood flowing through his veins is infiltrated with the magical strength of monarchy; does he not realise what it would feel like to lose that? He goes about life as if his power is nothing out of the ordinary, but abdicating would make him a normal, average wizard... he doesn't know what it's like to live like that..."

"Neither do you," Lily retorted.

"Yes, but my dad did and I lived my childhood seeing how it destroyed him. He used to tell me about it all the time. He used to talk about the moment that he was forced to abdicate and how the magic was sucked right out of him and into Voldemort ..." James spoke softly.

Lily smiled and sat on her husband's lap.

"And, yet, you were ready to abdicate to be with me..." she spoke into the king's ear.

James put a few strands of her loose hair behind her ear.

"No amount of pain could ever keep me away from you," James told her with as much love as the first day he told her he loved her. "But it's just hard for me to believe that Harry could feel the same for someone..."

"And don't you think that that might be because you still see him as the six-year-old who used to tell you he would become the world's best ice-cream maker?" The red-head laughed, caressing the man's cheek.

James smiled.

"Yes, I guess... but it's more than that. Can Harry really love Ginny as much as I love you? For me there's only ever been you, Lils. I never so much as looked at another woman; I knew I loved you from the moment I set my sight on your eleven-year-old innocent green eyes...Yet, Harry's been with Merlin knows how many women and he's claimed to be in love before, hasn't he? And, what about Ginny Weasley? She got married, for Godric's sake! Do you really think she loves Harry? Or is she only playing with him? What kind of woman gets divorced?"

Lily shook her head at her husband. "Stop thinking so much, James; it almost suits you less than it suits Sirius. You know I've been against this from a beginning because I see things before you do and I realised this time was different, but... he loves her, James, he looks at her the same way that you look at me and I can tell that he's come to the conclusion that he wants to be with her in the long run."

"But that can't be..." James insisted.

"Then, just like you, he'll rather suffer the pain of abdicating than lose her. I obviously don't know what it's like to lose the power, but I can remember how the magic invaded me when that crown was put on my head, and If it's half as intense as that, then I can say it must be horrible. Nevertheless, I'd go through it a million times over for you, just like I think Harry would do for Ginny..."

* * *

><p>"You look great," Ginny told Angelina as they both stood in the corner of the kitchen, while Molly and George got the table ready for dinner. In the living room, Victoire was playing on the floor while all the other kids were upstairs, already sleeping. Her dad was down on the floor beside her while Fleur sat at the largest sofa, talking to Hermione and Audrey. On the further side of the room, Arthur stood with Bill, Fred, Percy and Ron.<p>

"I'm feeling better," Angelina told her friend. "I mean, I'm completely healed; I was already healed before you even woke up, but it took a few weeks for me to feel normal again..."

Molly looked up and smiled sympathetically at the woman while George finished placing the last fork and walked up to his girlfriend, putting his arms around her and kissing the top of her head.

"That's only natural," Molly spoke. "You know, I went through a similar situation in between Charlie and Percy... and I was very close to another one while I was carrying Ginny."

George tried his best at a smile. "In the end, the important thing is that Angie's fine, all the rest really doesn't matter... we have all our lives to make thousands of babies."

Angelina looked at her boyfriend with raised eyebrows. "You're not getting more than two out of me, so you might have to find the other nine-hundred-and-ninety-eight elsewhere."

A similar laugh to George's resounded and Fred came towards them, resting his elbow on his sister's shoulder.

"He couldn't look elsewhere if he tried! But, you should make an honest man out of my brother, Angelina. He used to be very innocent before he met you..."

For a small second, George and Fred shared a look; it was one of _their _looks, those brief looks that only lasted about a second, but held deep, prolonged conversations in them. The twins still weren't on stable ground, but they were slowly getting there. Fred had already forgiven everything, he was ready as ever to jump back into their past relationship and forget that he ever held any feelings for Angelina. After all, since the accident and finding out Angie had been pregnant, she was no longer his first girlfriend, or his first time or his first anything... she was only his sister-in-law and he had accepted that faster than he had ever thought he could.

The real problem was George, because his brother had spent months without saying a word to him; he had avoided him at the shop, at home; he had ignored his explanations, he hadn't accepted that he loved Angelina and, when he _had _talked to him, all his words were cruel and hurtful. So, George wasn't as ready to forgive as his twin was, but he was getting there, especially because he knew that he was also to blame in this mess and that, in the end, he was nothing without his brother.

"I'd marry him in a second," Angie told the red-head she had once thought she might end up with. "But he refuses to elope."

At the word elope, Molly's eyes went wide. "Elope? Oh, you wouldn't, would you? You wouldn't rid me of my son's wedding. Besides, marriages that start with an elopement never end well, just look at Ginny..."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Mum, I'm right here..."

Molly raised her eyebrows. "Sweetheart, you eloped when you were 18, in a Muggle ceremony and were divorced months later...are you going to tell me you aren't the true image of what you shouldn't do with your marriage?"

Ginny stuck her tongue out in an immature way before becoming serious again.

"Talking about mistakes I've made," she said. "Can everyone listen to me for a second?" She said loudly while she made her way to the centre of the living room. "I need to tell you something..."

However, just as the chaser got ready to share the news with her family, the doorbell sounded through the house. The members that stood inside of The Burrow looked at each other, trying to see who was missing.

"You're sure Charlie wasn't coming, right Mum?" Ron asked Molly

"Yes, absolutely. Besides, if it _was _your brother, he wouldn't ring the doorbell, he'd burst in without knocking, like all of you brutes always do!"

Ginny laughed slightly and walked towards the door. For a second, she wondered if it was Luna and she smiled at the thought, but the smile disappeared as she opened the door and revealed Harry James Potter, dressed in a Muggle shirt and Muggle trousers. Quickly, she came to terms with the fact that the Prince of Wales was standing outside her house and she took a step outside, closing the door almost completely behind her.

"What are you doing here?" She asked quietly, trying her best to bring her Weasley fury out, but finding that it was contradicted with how happy she was to see him after these last few days. The night they had spent together had probably been the best night of her entire life and it had taken a lot of effort to get up and write him that note, but, what else could she do? They were both doomed from the start, weren't they?

Harry smiled nervously. "I bought Firewhiskey," he said, showing her an expensive bottle of the drink.

Ginny sighed. "Godric, Harry, why are you here? I thought you understood..."

With that, Harry became serious again. "Did you really think I was letting you go? I was giving you time!

"Well, in my dictionary, 'giving me time' does not mean showing up at my parents' on a family night!" Ginny reproached.

Harry shook his head. "Don't turn this on me. I was all for giving you another week, until I found out you were thinking about leaving with Gwen! What on Merlin is that about?"

At this point, all the Weasleys were looking towards the door, wondering who it was that Ginny was talking to.

"That's really none of you business, Harry," Ginny told him. "I thought we were both on the same page. This cannot be; it really is as simple as that."

Harry lifted an eyebrow. "And the best way to get that point through was sleeping with me and leaving me a note? Give me a break, Gin... I'm not leaving, I'm not giving up on you..."

Ginny started to say something, but was interrupted by her mother's voice.

"Ginny, who is it?" The motherly sound came, making Ginny gulp. She looked at Harry with a begging look, asking him please to leave, but he answered negatively, shaking his head.

"I'm not leaving, Gin," he told her in a whisper, as the sound of steps became louder and Molly Weasley opened the door, revealing her only daughter and, to her surprise, the future king of England.

"Hello, Mrs. Weasley," Harry started with a charming smile. "I know we've seen each other before, but I don't think I've ever had the pleasure of meeting you properly, I'm Harry."

Molly's jaw was a little open and she had almost dropped the apron she was carrying in her hand, having taken it off on her way to the door. It was true, the woman had seen the prince before, but it had been from a distance and never somewhere as common as her own house.

"Harry was just leaving, Mum," Ginny quickly said, sending Harry a glare and, a second later, cursing herself for using his first name so casually.

"Your Highness," Molly began, leaning down slightly, but Harry stopped her quickly.

"Oh, there's no need for that, Mrs. Weasley, please... I should be the one bowing to you for raising such a wonderful daughter. I'm just Harry, really, and I've been dying to meet you for a long time; Ginny's told me so much about all of you," Harry once again continued with his charming attitude.

Ginny cursed inwardly as her mother eyed her for a second, obviously putting two and two together and realizing who 'Harry' really was and why it was complicated to be with him.

The matriarch smiled at Harry kindly and opened the door wide. "Well, I'd like to say the same but we all know how secretive Ginny is. The last person I ever thought 'Harry' was, was the Magical Prince of Wales."

Harry almost blushed as Ginny rolled her eyes. She knew this game, he always played it with his own mother when he was in trouble and he was using it now.

"Well, you must stay for dinner, I was about to serve and there's plenty. Unless, of course, you have important arrangements, in that case, I completely understand," Molly told the guest, slowly getting over her initial shock.

Ginny was about to give a negative answer for Harry when the young man smiled at her mother and started walking into her house as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

All Ginny could think as she followed Harry into the living room and a complete silence took hold of the house, was that this was most definitely trouble.

* * *

><p>AN: So, Harry ain't giving up. Remember to review to get the update for the next chapter. :D


	11. Chapter 9 : Part II

_**A/N: I'm really sorry for the big delay guys but you have to understand that I'm not exagerating when I say that I lack the time to even upload the chapters, let alone write them. Having said that, I'm afraid I won't be able to upload anything else until my last exams are over, which will be in July. thought I promise to try and write this summer. At least, I'm going to leave you with a good ending here. This is where part 1 of this story ends so I hope you'll like it :D**_

_**One last thing, I feel that I have to let you all know about this AMAZING story out there...and, when I say amazing I mean amazing, it's that kind of story where the first chapter makes you turn back and forget about it but DON´T YOU DARE because it's trully outstanding, it's so well thought out that I think it could become a real book, I would definately spend my money on it. It's "Foolish" from the magnificent author Tonksaholic and I think she's probably reading this right now so...why don't you honor us with a chapter? I wake up early sometimes just to see if I can spare a few minutes for your story and your story only.**_

_**Hahaha, sorry, got a little carried away...here is the chapter.**_

**Chapter 9, Part 2**

**Arthur** Weasley was well known in the magical world. In a beginning, he was nothing more that the Muggle-fanatic son of a poor Wizarding family, who married the only daughter that the Prewetts had and who had seven children with her. However, in the last few years, he had been promoted in the Muggle section of the ministry and he wasn't that far away from becoming the Minister for Muggle-Affairs. Due to that, he saw more of the royal family every day, but the King and the Queen weren't ever strangers to him; during the war, Arthur and Molly had formed part of Dumbledore's "Order of the Phoenix", group which James and Lily had also been a part of.

The thing was that, even though he was familiar with his parents, Arthur still couldn't wrap his head around the fact that Harry Potter, the Prince of Magical Wales and future King of Magical England, was sitting at his kitchen table, eating his wife's pumpkin pie and sharing looks with his only daughter.

"And are you really as good as they say?" Fred asked Harry, his mouth half-full.

Ginny, who was still looking rather worried and rigid, laughed for the first time that night. "He's better," she said, sharing another look with Harry. I've seen him do the Wronski Feint better than I've ever seen anyone do it; though he scares the magic out of me when he does; it always seems like he won't be able to pull it off and he'll pummel into the ground."

"It always scared me when Charlie used to do it," Molly added with a small smile. "He was a great seeker too, Your- I mean, Harry."

"Yes, I know; Ginny's told me a lot about it and Hermione told me that you were a very Quidditch-involved family even before I met her," Harry let them know.

"And how long have you and Ginny known each other, Your Highness? If it's not indiscreet to ask," Percy politely spoke up.

Harry looked at Ginny and she answered for him.

"He set me up at a party that Ron was supposed to go to but convinced to have me replace him," Ginny said.

Angelina laughed at her. "The party that Ron convinced you to go to almost a year ago? What do you mean 'he set you up'?"

"Just that, I'm afraid," Harry laughed. "I held an interest for Ginny since the first time I saw her fly. I was literally dying to meet her when I was offered the perfect opportunity and, from the moment we greeted each other, we clicked."

Harry slowly took hold of Ginny's hand, which was resting next to her plate.

"And I suppose it's a secret, right?" Angelina added. "I mean, like I said, I remember Ginny telling me about that party and it was almost a year ago so...I'm guessing that you're together but secretly."

"Are you officially together, though?" Molly asked a little alarmed, sharing a concerned look with Arthur.

Ginny rolled her eyes as she took a hand to her forehead, wondering if this could get any more complicated.

"No," she answered slowly, but, just at the same time Harry answered with a strong 'yes'.

Harry and Ginny shared a small look.

"I'm here, aren't I?" Harry whispered slightly, knowing perfectly how impolite it was to talk like this while eating dinner surrounded by his girlfriend's family, but not being sure of how else he could take on this issue.

Ginny shook her head. "I didn't ask you to come here."

Harry looked down defeated, but Hermione spoke up.

"Well, it is kind of official, isn't it, Ginny? I mean the whole royal family knows about it and now so do we."

Ginny sent her friend a deathly glare, while Harry sent the same woman a thankful one.

"Like I just said, that wasn't what I had planned, so no, Hermione, it's not official; it's not anything, and, if you could excuse me, I don't have much more to say here. I had some news for you all, but I guess that can wait until the next family meeting,' Ginny's voice came as she stood up, tucked in her share, ignored Harry's pleading look and left through the black door, into the dark night.

Harry stood up in a second, ready to follow her, but, before he could move, he felt Arthur's hand on his shoulder.

"I'm afraid it's my job to go after her, son; this time at least," the older man told the younger one kindly, following his daughter.

* * *

><p><strong>Arthur<strong> didn't have to look for his daughter, he knew where she would be the moment she left through the back door.

She was sitting at her favourite spot, next to the pond they always swam in as kids, on the second thick branch of the big oak tree from which the broken swing hung. She was looking at the moon, her red hair illuminated by it and flowing freely down her back.

"Sweetheart, what are you doing?" Arthur's voice came kindly as he stood under the branch on which his daughter sat.

Ginny looked down at him. "I'm sorry about the show, Dad. Don't worry, I'm sure Harry will be gone by now.

Arthur shook his hair, taking out his wand and pointing it to his feet, managing to levitate slightly so he could be at the same level as his only daughter.

"I somehow doubt that, Princess; he was ready to come look for you until I stopped him; Merlin knows he wouldn't be able to find his way around here at night," the man spoke with a small laugh. "Why don't you come down to stable ground and tell me what's going on?"

Ginny sighed and slowly made her way down the tree, congratulating herself for the comfortable clothes she had worn that evening. She pointed her wand at the broken swing, which they never took the time to properly fix, and transfigured it into a small bench for both of them to sit. Before she had sat down, her dad had pulled out his own wand and cast another spell on the bench.

"I'm sorry, Ginny," he laughed as he sat down. "But I don't particularly trust your transfiguration skills; I still haven't been able to forget the incident with the razor that you transfigured into a comb."

Ginny offered him a little smile. "You've always blamed me for your becoming bald because of that."

Arthur put his arm around his daughter with a bigger smile. "Keep the secret, but we both know that comb had little to do with it. Now, I think you have some explaining to do, don't you?"

"Oh, Merlin, Dad..." Ginny spoke, burying her face in her hands. "Where do I even start? The beginning of everything? The fight? Tonight?"

"How about you just give me the short condensed version?" The man spoke up.

Ginny looked at him with questioning eyes. "Just how condensed do you want it?"

Arthur sighed. "As condensed as you can manage."

Ginny went silent for a moment, debating with herself and trying to compose a reply that would be sufficient. "How about...I'm in love with the future King of Magical England, he's in love with me but I can't do anything about it because he's a royal and I'm divorced and we can't be together."

Arthur raised his eyebrows in thought, trying to digest the short but important information that his daughter had offered. "So you're in love?"

Ginny rolled her eyes. "It's not like that this time, Dad... and, for the record, I _did _love Dean, but we all know he wasn't the one; he was never even close to the one, we didn't fit; but Harry and me are the kind of perfect that I wasn't aware even existed. We are just the same in some ways and totally different in others; we push each other to be better, we match in every way... He makes me feel like I'm worth so much more than I'm worth, Daddy..."

Arthur sighed. "And what do Lily and James have to say about this? I'm guessing they're not okay with it, are they?"

"No," Ginny shook her head. "But what does it even matter? Our relationship wouldn't be accepted, I know that for sure..."

"Princess, nothing is sure in this life except for death, so don't be so sure about anything... Did you leave the poor boy? Did you make him fall in love with you and then leave him?" Arthur asked, making Ginny angry.

"Made him? I didn't make him do anything! And yes, Dad, I left! What else could I do? Continuing with this could only lead to more heartbreak."

Arthur stood up from the bench, touching his eyebrows gently, thinking.

"Sweetheart, I'm trying to be understanding and supportive, but I need you to let me wrap my head around the fact that Harry James Potter, Prince of Wales, is standing in my kitchen, and that you are claiming that you're both truly in love... the once in a lifetime kind," Arthur spoke slowly, as if his thoughts still invaded his mind as he spoke.

"Do you not believe me?" Ginny asked him. "I understand if you don't, I'm not the most reliable source when-"

But Arthur interrupted her. "Would you leave it all for him if you could? If you were able to become his queen-"

"That's impossi-"

"I'm not talking about reality, Ginny; I'm talking about feelings so, deal with me, please. Would you leave it all to be with him? Would you leave Quidditch forever? Have to go through makeup and dresses, which you hate, everyday? Learn all protocol and work your way to deserve that position?"

Ginny stood silent for a moment. "What you're talking about...it's a nightmare, my worst nightmare. Dresses? No Quidditch? Protocol?" For a second a sympathetical smile appeared on Arthur's face, which showed that he thought he had shown the truth to his daughter; he didn't expect what was coming next. "But I'd be doing that with him, Dad. He'd be with me every step of the way, we wouldn't have to sneak around, we'd have every meal together, watch movies together, we'd even go to all those stupid events together and I'd be able to wake up to that beautiful face every day, and see my reflection in those green eyes whenever I wanted. There's pros and cons, Dad, and the one pro of having him is so much larger than the sum of a thousands of cons. But that's not the point. I already know I love him more than anything, but if he knew that, he'd give up the throne for me, and how can I ask him to do that?"

"If he truly loves you, then you wouldn't even have to ask... I'm guessing you've never told him this, because if you had, and if he's really in love as you say, then he would have already given it all up," Arthur spoke seriously.

Ginny sighed. "Exactly, if I'm completely truthful with him, if I tell him I'm ready to go in all the way, he'll abdicate... and, I don't know how much you know about royalty, Dad, but most their magic is linked to their right to the throne, if he gives that up, he'll be left as a common wizard, who has a tough time achieving third-year spells," Ginny explained sadly. "The other possibility, if it can even be called a possibility... well, can you seriously imagine me as the Queen of England? I mean, it's most definitely not what I want... and I don't know if I'd be able to bring children into this world, knowing that they would have to grow up facing a destiny."

"It doesn't seem like it's that bad, does it? Does Harry hate it all that much?" The man asked his daughter.

Ginny stood up and shrugged. "Harry's used to it; besides, he's more than just the prince, isn't he? He's also the boy-who-lived, he'd be famous even if he was the most normal son of a Muggle family... But Max, Prince Max, does hate it; he doesn't really like magic. And, Elizabeth isn't all that happy either and, who blames her? She's barely twenty years old and already being pressured into having a second child. If I ever have children, something I've never even been sure I want, I don't want them to have to marry for State matters or have to be looked after by nannies because I'm just too busy to be with them."

Ginny looked down at her dad, who remain seated, as she ran a hand through her loose hair. "But then I think," she continued, "I think about children, and having a beautiful little boy with Harry's horrible messy hair, and giving Mum a proper wedding, not for me... you know I wouldn't even like it, but imagine how happy she would be if she could see me dressed in my wedding gown, walking down an aisle."

"There's a lot of men out there that you can do that with, darling. I'll always think that none of them deserve you, no matter who they are; but maybe you can find one with whom everything will be less complicated..." Arthur tried.

"You didn't find someone to replace Mum, even though it was complicated..." Ginny told him. "I know it's hard to imagine that I, of all people, can be as in love with anyone as you are with Mum, but as far as I know, Harry's the only person I can love like this... yet, he's the only person I'm not allowed to. I don't know what to do, Dad."

Arthur stood up and put his hand on his daughter's cheek. "Princess, I... Maybe if this was your first serious relationship I would try to discourage you, I'd probably lie to you so I could keep you here, being my baby girl. But you haven't been my baby girl for a while now, so I'm going to be truthful. If you truly believe you are in love with Harry in the way you say you are... then there's only one way you can go wrong."

"By leading him on?" Ginny asked him.

Arthur shakes his head slowly with a sympathetic smile. "Sweetheart, the only way you can go wrong here is by not being with him."

* * *

><p><strong>"I'm<strong> really sorry for showing up unannounced, Mrs. Weasley," Harry spoke as he brought a few more dirty plates into the kitchen, so Mrs. Weasley could charm them clean.

Molly shook her head as she took the plates from the prince. "You really don't have to do that, your highness. My boys will help clean up."

"It's Harry, really, Mrs. Weasley it's really no bother; the table's already cleaned up. Besides, it's only fair I clean up the dinner after messing it all up," he told her.

Molly sighed. "I'm sorry my daughter was impolite, Harry... but I have to say you surprised her and we all know how much Ginny hates surprises."

"Yes, I know...and, she wasn't impolite, she was just being Ginny; you know she doesn't like hiding herself behind excuses, she says the things like they are and I shouldn't have showed up like this, but it was the only thing I could think of in order to change her mind," Harry spoke with little to no spirit as he sat down on one of the chairs.

Molly sat down on the nearest chair as she flicked her wand and cleaned the plates. "I have to say you surprised me too; I never imagined the 'Harry' that was so amazing but impossible to be with was the Prince of Wales. She... She really likes you, you know? Like she's never liked anyone; not even Dean."

"And yet, it's harder to be with me than anyone else too," Harry spoke sadly. "You must think I'm a horrible guy for putting her in this position, but I swear to you that I really do love you daughter; I've loved her almost since the first time I heard her speak. She's one of a kind."

Molly offered the prince a small smile. "Oh, Harry, I don't think you a horrible boy. I'm more than capable of understanding why you fell for my daughter...I think none of us can really pinpoint the exact reasons that make her such a loveable person; I mean, after all, she's stubborn, a bit of a brat and seems to have taken in the horrible Weasley temper of all her ancestors put together, but, either way, she still seems to leave everyone around her in awe."

Harry chuckled.

"So, no, Harry, of course I don't think you're a horrible person for putting her in this position. I guess most mothers would be thrilled about this..."

"But not you?" Harry asked as politely as he could manage.

Molly stood up and flicked her wand again, making a nearby cloth fly towards the plates and start drying them off.

"I wouldn't care if Ginny was with a lowly potions merchant if that made her happy, Harry," Molly confessed. "I'm perfectly aware this situation's far off from ideal, I know that one of you is going to give up everything for the other and that will hurt a lot, and I'll warn you that a normal relationship wouldn't be able to survive that... but I also have to tell you that you've managed to make my daughter fall in love with you in a way that she's never fallen for anyone. And I'm pretty sure she'd leave Quidditch for you, and that can't be taken lightly when it's Ginny we're talking about."

Harry nodded. "I don't want her to have to leave Quidditch for me, Mrs. Weasley. I don't want her to give up anything for me... I've accepted that it will most probably be me who has to give up everything; but I'm okay with that. I mean, maybe I haven't come to terms with it completely, but I will. I don't really need anything if I've got her."

Molly was about to continue talking when Ginny and Arthur appeared through the back door. Harry stood up and looked at Ginny with a hopeful look, she turned her head.

"Come on, Molly, let's allow the lovebirds some privacy..."

In a matter of seconds they were alone.

* * *

><p><strong>"But<strong> when did they even meet?" Bill's voice asked.

Angelina looked at him. "I told you, almost a year back at a party, but I don't think they started dating then. Then, at Christmas, I know she was single because Lee was trying to get back together with her, but a few weeks later we started suspecting that she was seeing someone. I can see why she kept on denying it now."

"Ron, you knew and didn't do anything?" George asked.

"Do anything? What did you want me to do? Walk into the royal palace and threaten the prince to stay away from my little sister? Besides, I did talk to him and act all protective, but it's impossible to keep it up; he really is a decent guy. Besides, even if I wanted to do something about it, Hermione wouldn't let me, she's their number one shipper."

"I am _not_! I just think that they match each other perfectly and that Harry is most probably the best guy she could ever be with..." Hermione retaliated.

Fred shrugged. "If she's happy, who are we to judge?"

George laughed. "That must be the most mature thing you have ever said, Forge."

"Yes," Arthur spoke as he came in with Molly. "But it's also true. This has come as a surprise to some of us, but, either way, your sister is a grown up and can look after herself. Having said that, you should probably all head home while your mother and I head up to bed; those two have to solve a few things."

* * *

><p><strong>"I'm<strong> sorry - talked to you like that," Ginny apologised quietly. "But, you know I don't work well with surprises; I need to know what to expect from situations and you keep making that so bloody hard."

Harry shook his head as he leaned against the counter. "It's not really like you left me another choice, is it? You were going to tell them that you were leaving with Gwenog..."

"You know as well as I do that Gwenog is not going to be okay to travel for another few weeks. You could've just sent me an owl tomorrow and we could've met up," the red-head told him. She didn't particularly want to fight with him, but she just still wasn't sure what she wanted. Her dad had made her understand that Harry was her only chance of truly being happy, of getting something in life apart from Quidditch and ridiculous flings, but she still wasn't sure how this was going to work out. She wanted to believe they could, but, what if they couldn't? What if all this ended in disaster? She was so confused that the only thing she could do right then was let her Weasley temper flow.

"That's your way to solve everything, isn't it?" Harry threw in her face. "To scribble down a few words on a sheet on paper and tell yourself it's okay to do that to someone."

"I didn't have another choice!" Ginny shouted at him. "What was I supposed to do, Harry? I tried breaking it off that night and you didn't let me...I knew that trying again would be useless with you tempting me to forget everything that stands in our way. Writing that stupid letter was the only way I knew how to get the point across without you trying to convince me otherwise."

Harry sighed. "And you thought I'd just read the letter and let you go? I thought you knew me better than that..."

"I _do _know you better than that, but I was hoping you would give it a thought at least and realise that I'm not saying any nonsense. We can't be together, Harry, as stupid and as cliché as it sounds, the circumstances don't allow that."

They both looked at each other for a few second before Harry stopped leaning on the counter, took a step towards Ginny and, slowly, leaned in to place his lips firmly on his.

When Ginny was just about to pull back, Harry did.

"I love you," he said softly, looking her directly in the eye. "Like I've never loved anyone."

Ginny looked down as she let out a soft and confused breath. "I know," she said as she looked up and spoke with a broken voice. "As do I. But that just doesn't make it easier, does it? It just makes it harder."

Harry tucked a strand of hair behind her ear lovingly. "Say we were just a boy and a girl..."

Ginny interrupted him. "We're not just a-"

"Say we were...because if we were, where would we be? In our relationship, I mean..."

Ginny shrugged with a sad smile as thoughts invaded her head. "We'd be here, I'd have invited you to meet my family and they'd love you and we would be taking it one day at a time, slowly making this the best relationship out there..."

Harry smiled. "And once we said goodbye to your parents we'd go round your place and jump each other on your tiny bed, making memories of the second best night of my life."

Ginny laughed, amazed by how the hostile atmosphere that had surrounded them a few seconds before, had completely disappeared.

"The second? Was the first time so amazing?" She said with a suggestive smile, but Harry simply smiled and caressed her cheek.

"The first night would have to be the night I met you, Ginny Weasley, even if you did blow me off big time," he spoke, leaving Ginny a little stunned.

The redhead bit her lip as she looked up at the man standing in front of her. "What are we going to do, Harry? I need to know we have a plan, I need to know that I'm not just going to fall more and more in love with you, just to have to end it when there's no way back."

"I can't be away from you, Gin. I feel like I've lost my way when I don't know the next time I'll see you. These last few days have been hell; I've been so bloody angry that you left me that morning; all I wanted was to be with you and I thought I had finally convinced you and then you disappeared and... I know what it's like to think that you're gone forever, I really thought it when the bomb went off at the tournament... I can't go through that again," Harry spoke up.

"Merlin, Harry...I know this, I knew when I wrote the note that it would be painful, but, don't you think it would be even worse if this had to happen in a year? I was just trying to make this easier on both of us..."

"Then let's stay together a year from now, and the year after that and five years after and...Godric, Gin, let's just say together the rest of our lives..." Harry begged with his eyes as he took her hands, and, before she could answer, he continued. "It's a mess and a chaotic one...I hate doing this to my dad and specially to Max, but I'm not going to put them or a bloody crown above you; that's never worked for me and it's definitely not going to work now that I've found you."

"What you're trying to say..." Ginny started.

"What I'm trying to say is that, when the time comes and we're not allowed to be together, because of my father, because of the witches and wizards of England or even because you just don't want the life that comes with marrying a prince, I'll abdicate in a second and we'll go off and live in Spain, next to my school, were it's always sunny and people will tell us what a lovely couple we make and then we can get married on the beach and have lots of redheaded children running around on-"

He was interrupted by Ginny kissing him hardly, with so much passion that Harry could swear it almost burnt him. When she pulled back, Harry pushed Ginny against the sink and they were both out of breath.

"A preview of tonight?" Harry asked with a small smile.

Ginny, however, did not answer.

"And by that I mean are we going to be okay? Because, Ginny, I need us to be okay, and I need to know that you think we're okay, that..."

"Truthfully, Harry?" Ginny spoke softly, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck. "You had me the minute you said that your best night was the one you met me."

And having said that, they both leaned in for another kiss, knowing perfectly well that the road ahead was going to be hell, but that roads apart were just not an option for them anymore. They were in this together, forever.


	12. Chapter 10

**A/N: 1)Sorry for the huge delay. I know it took me even longer than I promised, but I took a week off when summer started and then I had to start working, making sure I kept my friends happy by going out plenty and also getting my driver's license so**

**2) Sorry to those who only got the preview this morning. I normally send it a few days before but, once again. Life happened.**

**3) Thanks to all of you who said 'good luck' for my exams. Luckily I did really good and I'm really happy. Specially because I'm now officially a university student, who is starting 'journalism' in the fall!**

**Finally) I promise I'll try to get the next chappie up before August, but I can´t really make any promises. Anyway, so I actually kind of like this chapter...in it we see a little of Tonks and Sirius and well...mainly, we finally get a good explanation about how magical monarchies work. I hope you enjoy it :D**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 10<strong>

**2nd May 2006**

**Th**e light shone through the small gap that had been left between the curtains. It was tiny, really; only big enough to light a small portion of Ginny's red hair, which was lying all over the white pillow under her head, but it still left Harry in awe. How could a simple ray of light give that red hair so much life and colours? He couldn't even say what the colours were...there was obviously the vibrant red, but there was also some orange, and some golden highlights that made her look like an angel.

It was funny, Ginny hated her hair. Well, maybe she didn't hate it, but she had told Harry in many occasions that it made it looking decent all the more difficult; however, Harry didn't just like it...it made him crazy, almost in an obsessive kind of way. The prince was completely incapable of resisting his girlfriend when she let her voluminous hair down.

"You're staring at me again, aren't you?" Ginny's voice came quietly from under the pillow she had been facing.

Harry chuckled slightly. "Not you, your hair. It looks amazing when the light shines on it like this."

Ginny, slowly and with huge sleepy eyes, turned her head to look at the man who was lying next to her.

"You're seriously starting to worry me, Potter...the obsession you have with my hair is not healthy; really, you should probably see your royal doctor or something," she mocked him with a small, tired smile.

Harry shuffled a little closer to her and tucked most of her hair, which was covering her face, behind her ear. He smiled back at her before pecking her softly on the lips.

"Why would I ever need a doctor when I've got you?" he asked her before kissing her again, this time with a little more passion.

Ginny laughed as she pulled back, knowing full well that, if she didn't, they'd be horizontal in a matter of seconds. "It's quite late, you know? Almost 12 pm. Don't you have some meetings or social commitments today?"

Harry looked at her offended. "Why are you in such a hurry to get rid of me? You didn't seem to want me to leave last night..."

Ginny couldn't help the blush that invaded her face as she threw a pillow at the prince. As he defended his face, she wrapped the second blanket tightly around her naked body and got up from the bed, walking towards the window and letting all the light in.

"It's sunny," she spoke with a surprised smile. Sunny and London didn't tend to mix all that much.

Harry laughed, and couldn't help but smile and how gorgeous she looked wrapped in that white blanket.

"You look beautiful in white, you know?" He told her as he lay back on the head board. "You'd make one beautiful bride."

Ginny shook her head and laughed as she slowly walked back to the bed.

"I wish I could say the same, but I don't know if the dress would suit you," she mocked him.

He gasped in fake horror as he moved forward and grabbed her hips, pushing her back down on the bed and pinning her beneath him.

"You really would look beautiful as a bride," Harry whispered as he looked her in the eye. "I really can't understand how that idiot let you marry him in a pair of jeans."

Ginny rolled her eyes as she moved to the side and sat up on the bed, still looking at him. "Don't call Dean an idiot," she warned him. "We've gone through this...it was a rebellious act of two teenagers who thought they were in love and who wanted to get back at their families for treating them like the kids they were, but in the end we both knew it would never work out, that's why we married like that...when I think of it now, I don't even consider it a true wedding, it was almost like a kids' game."

Harry shrugged. "Maybe if I had gone to Hogwarts you wouldn't have even dated him...you'd have fallen for me instantly."

Ginny laughed as she hit him playfully on the arm.

"I don't doubt it but, would you have fallen for me? I can almost imagine it...You would probably have been a Gryffindor and maybe even friends with Ron. You'd have had to stand him and Hermione fighting all day long, but you would have loved them like family and, then, there would be me...your best mate's little sister who had this huge, annoying crush on you while you were too busy following Cho Chang or one of those girls around."

Harry smiled and put his forehead against hers. "Until one day you would get over your crush and maybe start dating a git like Dean Thomas, because I was too busy dating stupid silly girls, and you'd sit beside me and tell me loads about Quidditch or some cool spells and I'd look at you and it would just click."

"What would click?" Ginny asked with red cheeks and a small smile.

Harry leaned down and captured her lips in a kiss as he pulled back he gave her his best smile. "That I was talking to the girl I would end up marrying."

Ginny sighed. "That's like the twenty-thousandth time you've commented on marriage in two weeks."

Harry shrugged as he took Ginny's hand and played mindlessly with her fingers. "I can't wait to see you walking towards me in a beautiful white dress."

Ginny rolled her eyes once again and took one of her hands up to Harry's hair, laughing at just how much it resembled a rat's nest, especially after waking up.

"I'm not going to answer you back, you know? Not until we decide what is going to happen...I mean, you haven't even asked," she said and, before he could do something silly like asking, she continued. "And that doesn't mean that you should...we've been dating for five months, it's not like we're in a hurry. Besides, there's a long way ahead of us in that department, so maybe you should slow it down a little."

Harry shook his head as he shuffled on the bed and sat opposite her.

"I guess," he confessed. "But, do you know how long I've waiting for you, Gin? I know we have to take our time, but I don't really want to wait a lot longer than necessary."

He leaned in and kissed her once again, making it last a little longer this time.

"That's why I need to ask you a favour..." He spoke slowly as she pulled back.

Ginny bit her lip. "This is going to be bad, isn't it?

Harry shook his head. "No, not bad...maybe a bit of a challenge but you love challenges."

The redheaded woman raised her eyebrows. "I like challenges I can overcome but, either way, speak up, you've got me intrigued."

"Dinner at mine, on Thursday..." he said slowly.

Ginny now looked confused. "Just like we do every weekend?"

"Yes," Harry nodded. "Except for the fact that...well, my parents will be there"

* * *

><p><strong>A<strong>s Harry entered the dining room that day, he was expecting to find only his father eating at the table; surprisingly, he also found his mother, his brother, Sirius and his wife and his youngest daughter, who was talking animatedly with Max.

"Hi," Harry said as he entered the room where everyone was already eating. "Can I join you?" he asked politely.

Lily smiled. "Of course, Harry," she told him before looking over at one of the waiters. "Could you please bring him a plate, Lionel?" the queen asked with her sweet voice.

Lionel nodded as he headed into the kitchen for a plate.

"Harry," Henrietta, who had turned 16 a few months ago, spoke up.

Harry turned to look at the girl who was the perfect mixture of both her parents. She had her father's thick black hair, just like the rest of her sisters except for the eldest, but she also had her mother's striking grey eyes and lips...which Catalina did have. She was still meant to be in Hogwarts, but Harry guessed she had got a pass for the weekend.

"Catalina told me to tell you that she's waiting for the reply to the owl she sent you two weeks ago..."

Harry laughed as Lionel put a plate of pork in front of him and he thanked the man.

"I've wanted to get round to that, but just reading the letter took me two days," he replied as he looked at Sirius and his wife, Katie. "I really don't know how Sirius Black's daughter can write so much and so well."

Katie let out a laugh. "Did she tell you about the incident with the giant squib?"

Harry nodded. "She told me everything, every single little detail about everything that has happened since she arrived. It sounds like she's really enjoying assisting Minerva, though, and she's dying until she gets to start teaching herself."

Lily smiled. "It's great she got to do that, it must be a wonderful job, even if it does make things for her and Richard a little bit difficult."

Sirius sighed. "Who even cares about Richard? All the better for her if he leaves and she can live her life as a calm Hogwarts professor."

James laughed slightly, although through his smile you could see he was in his serious attitude. "And by calm, you obviously mean 'single', don't you, Padfoot?"

Sirius growled. "You should know better than to start this fight with me, Prongs; you know I always win...I've still managed to keep them all innocent."

Harry couldn't help but laugh at the thought that Sirius truly believed his daughters were innocent; the Black sisters were the most dangerous women on this planet; they had managed to bring any guy to their feet since they were 13. All 4 of them.

"Talking about single and innocent people, where were you last night, Harry? I wanted to run over the summer schedule with you, but you were nowhere to be found," Lily asked her son.

Harry hesitated for a second. "I went out with Ginny last night and spent the night at her place."

Lily couldn't help but blush slightly and James looked at his son disapprovingly; however, it was hard to take it seriously when Sirius winked at him.

"Good one, Prongs Junior," he laughed as he shared a look with his godson.

Katie nudged her husband.

"What?" Sirius spoke up and then looked at his best friend. "You can't tell me you still don't approve! That girl is amazing and Harry's obviously head over arse in love with her."

James shook his head. "That girl is also divorced and Harry has a habit of falling in love with anything that moves."

Harry shook his head. "That's not fair, Dad..."

"What's not fair is you bringing this up now, it's not the time or place, Harry," James spoke with authority.

Harry ran a hand through his hair and stood up. "I'm trying my best to be responsible here, but I'm not going to stop talking about Ginny as if she was some kind of taboo subject...in fact, I had come here thinking you'd be alone to ask you something, but maybe the social pressure will help me out at least once..."

"What do you-?" Lily started before being interrupted.

"I want us all to have dinner," Harry stated. "I mean you, Dad, Ginny and me...on Thursday. I checked your social calendars, you have no commitments."

"Harry..." Lily started.

"I'm not asking for your blessing, Mum; I'm just asking you to meet her so you can see for yourselves why I'm acting like this and so you can see she's no Cho Chang."

James didn't say anything.

"I've already said it so you know I'll be waiting for you at my place at about 7:30..."

Having said that, Harry left.

* * *

><p><strong>3rd May 2006<strong>

"You're killing me here, Weasley, you really are," Gwenog spoke as she walked around Ginny's flat, while the younger woman made some pasta. "Meeting the king and the queen? How long before you're ejecting little royal redheaded brats left and right?"

Ginny looked up at her friend and shook her head at her. "For a start, 'ejecting' is not what you should call giving birth, that's wrong even for your standards... Secondly, I'm meeting my boyfriend's parents, which is a completely normal thing to be doing when I've been with him for five months and we're talking about making it really official, so I don't know why you're overreacting."

"For a start," Gwen started, imitating the other woman. "This is not a normal situation because, even if you don't seem to remember, your 'boyfriend' is not just any guy, he happens to be the bloody Prince of magical England and, apart from that, you're talking about truly being with this guy forever. I'm sorry to break it to you, Sweetheart, but you are not Queen material! You're a divorced Quidditch player who plays on the only team where every single player, even if it couldn't be further for the truth, is considered a "scarlet woman", and you don't even know what the word 'protocol' means."

Ginny bit her lip. "You don't think I know that, Gwen? Of course I know that! But what do you want me to do if it turns out that the one guy who's perfect for me is also the one with whom I have the least perfect circumstances? Let me tell you something, Gwenog, this is your fault...you pushed me to him at that bloody awards show when I wanted nothing to do with this because I knew something like this would end up happening! Besides, just two weeks ago you were trying to make me doubt myself about letting him go and now you're punishing me for giving it a chance? Will you please make up your mind? You're supposed to be a helpful best friend, not a confusing conscience."

The ex-beater sighed. "I'm sorry, Red," she spoke softly, sitting on one of the chairs at the table. "I know I wasn't all that enthusiastic when you said you were letting him go because I can see the change in you since you started this thing. I mean, look at you! You won't be playing Quidditch for nearly a year because of the damage done to your leg and, still, you're smiling and barely even thinking about the sport. I can see you're happy, Ginny, and that's probably why I haven't been completely opposed to this; but, isn't this going a little too far? I thought the prince was that kind of guy that makes you believe in love again so you can go find your real prince charming, not the kind that you marry."

Ginny sighed and walked over to Gwenog, sitting opposite her. "I do miss it, Gwen, don't let the smile fool you. I mean, how could I not? It's been my life since I was old enough to play properly... But now I realize it was only a substitute for all those failed relationships and all that feeling lonely and excluded because I was the only girl, and the youngest one. I mean, maybe not only a substitute, you know I feel passion for Quidditch and, no matter what happens, I'll never stop playing it; but I can't deny that having Harry next to me makes it pale in comparison.

Gwenog was about to say something when Tonks, who was holding Teddy's hand with her left one and carrying David in her right arm, came into the flat.

Ginny smiled and walked up to Tonks. She hadn't been expecting them but she always loved their visits. She hugged Tonks and took David from her arms.

"What are you doing, little one?" Ginny asked the small child with a laugh. She then leaned down and ruffled Teddy's hair, which turned bright red as she touched it. Ginny couldn't help but laugh.

"We were having ice-cream with mummy and we wanted to come," the small Metamorphmagus told Ginny in a small voice.

Ginny looked at Tonks with a questioning expression and she then walked towards the table again, sitting down with David sitting on her lap and playing with the loose hairs that fell out of her braid.

Tonks smiled. "I'm sorry for interrupting, girls, but I needed to rest for a second. These two were driving me crazy. What are you two up to?"

"Gwenog's just trying to convince me that I'm making the worst mistake of my life by going steady with Harry," Ginny informed the woman.

"Well, I happen to think it's wonderful," Tonks stated. "You're perfect for each other. And the fact that Harry is taking you to meet his parents should be a clear sign of how in love he is with you."

Ginny, who had been making faces at David and Teddy, looked up.

She turned to Tonks with raised eyebrows. "How do you even know that? I was only telling Gwenog now and I haven't spoken a word to anyone else."

"Remus told me," Tonks said. "I think Harry asked them in front of Sirius and Sirius told Remus and... well, this is what happens when you and your boyfriend are linked by family friends."

Gwenog. "I thought you said they had asked him?"

Ginny bit her lip angrily. "Sneaky little git...I'm going to kill him. He's doing that thing where he uses all of Moody's strategy lessons to twist me into thinking everything's okay."

"So, he's not only a git who's destroying your life? He's also a big fat liar?" Gwen asked mockingly but Ginny took it seriously.

"I love him, Gwenog...whether he's a liar or ugly or annoyingly stubborn," Ginny let her know.

"Oh,mummy!" Teddy exclaimed. "If Ginny loves Harry then they can get married and then Ginny will also be my godmother!"

"Now even the kids rooting for them..." Gwenog spoke in her typical sarcastic manner.

"Gwen, it's enough...You can't understand why I would give everything up for love but I'm sure Tonks can..."

Tonks smiled. "I can, but wait until you have kids... that multiplies this love by a hundred."

Ginny offered her a smile. "So, yeah, I am meeting the King and the Queen and I'm in love with Harry, and this is all a huge mess, but nothing you say is going to change my mind."

* * *

><p><strong>"Thi<strong>s is the fifth time we listen to the same song," Ginny laughed as she waved her wand once again.

She was lying on the sofa with Teddy cuddle by her side while they both listened to an old Muggle song and Ginny fed the boy pizza for the first time.

"It's just really nice...all the music Mummy plays is always really noisy," the boy moaned, making Ginny laugh as she imagined Tonks playing the Weird Sisters' music to her sons. "And Daddy's always too busy to show me songs, but I can tell he hates Mummy's noisy music too."

Ginny smiled at Teddy sympathetically as she leaned down to kiss his forehead. Before she could comfort the boy with words, the noise of someone Apparating came to her ears.

"Is that pizza I smell?" Harry's voice sounded. She turned around and saw how he smiled at her and took his robe off, leaving behind a pair of blue jeans and a black t-shirt. He just loved his Muggle clothes. "What a busy day, I couldn't stop for a-"

But he was interrupted by Teddy running off the sofa and into his arms.

"Harry!" He shouted as he jumped onto Harry and the man lifted his godson into the air, ruffling his hair with a loving and surprised expression on his face. Within a second, the kid's hair had gone from red, which he had used since his Mum had left, to black.

"What are you doing here, mate?" Harry asked with a laugh as he walked to the sofa and pecked Ginny on the lips, with the five-year-old thrown over his shoulder and laughing.

"Tonks came over before and she mentioned she had her hands full with David and this little monster, since it's a full moon, so I told her I'd keep the snitch for the night...I didn't know you'd be coming along, I thought you had an important meeting early tomorrow morning..."

"I did," Harry started as he made his way to sit on the other side of the sofa. "I mean, I do...I thought I could sleep over here and then head there in the morning."

"Are you going to come to our sleepover too, Harry?" Teddy asked while he sat on the carpet and listened to the song once again.

Harry smiled. "Would you mind, Teddy? I haven't seen Ginny all day and I haven't seen you in a while either..."

Teddy nodded quickly but stayed quiet as he pressed his ear to the speaker of the wireless.

Ginny laughed. "One would say that it's strange that, having a huge palace, you always seem to rather sleeping in my tiny bed."

Harry smiled at her and shuffled closer so that their legs were touching. "Well, you are completely opposed to the idea of sleeping over at the palace and, if I'm truthful, the mornings I wake up without you make the whole day ahead look so bad..."

The redhead smiled widely. "I was telling Gwenog the same thing today. She was pretty sure I was going crazy by going forwards with this..."

"What did did tell you?" Harry asked, worried.

Ginny shrugged. "The typical...that this is a chaos, that I've lost it, that, even if your parents do accept this, I'm not queen material...that if you have to abdicate, you'll always secretly resent me for it..."

"What did you tell her?"

"Well, at first I told her to stuff it and then, well...then I told her that, even though our options are going to have bad consequences, none of those consequences compare with not being with you...oh! And talking about consequences..." she said before smacking him on the arm with force.

"Hey!" Harry shouted, making Teddy look their way.

"Ginny! You hit Harry!" The five-year-old stated in awe. "Mummy says you can't hit people!

Suddenly the image of Tonks beating a retired Death Eater up came to both Harry and Ginny's mind, but they didn't say a word about it.

"This time, and only this time, he deserves it, Teddy," she said, turning to look at Harry. "Because, even though we should never hit people, do you know what's even worse than hitting, Teddy?"

Teddy shook his head and Ginny smiled at him.

"Lying," she spoke strongly. "As in, for example, telling your girlfriend that your parents want to meet her when it turns out he's the one who's planned it all and the King and the Queen probably don't even want to be within a 100 metre radius of her..."

Teddy made a confused face. "I don't have a girlfriend, Ginny. Well, Victoire always says she's my girlfriend, but she's just a baby."

Ginny laughed slightly while she caught Harry looking at her with an apologizing facial expression.

"I'm sorry I lied," Harry spoke when Teddy had gone back to the wireless and Ginny was looking at him again. "But it was only a small tiny white lie, it doesn't count..."

The young woman nodded. "Yes it does, Harry. You made me think that they wanted this when it turns out you're forcing me on them."

"I just want them to meet you. Come on, Gin, I've met your parents..." Harry tried.

"Oh, yeah!" Ginny belted sarcastically. "Because meeting a lovely couple who didn't even throw a bad word your way is exactly the same as meeting the co-founders of the 'Harry-and-Ginny-shouldn't-be-together" club!'"

Harry sighed. "You're exaggerating. Mum does want to meet you even if she's a little hesitant and Dad...well Dad will grow fond of you the minute he sees you talk."

The redhead shook her head as she put her legs under her body and leaned in closer to Harry. "I'm not only the woman who is dating their kid, Harry, which already tends to make parents uncomfortable. I'm also the woman who could make you leave them and the monarchy behind."

"That's their problem, not ours," Harry spoke softly. Before Ginny could rectify, however, a small snore was heard coming from the floor and they both looked down to find Teddy had curled up on the carpet and fallen asleep in a matter of seconds.

* * *

><p><strong>"Just<strong> stay there for a minute while I set up the cot," Ginny told Harry, who was standing beside Ginny's bed, holding Teddy in his arms.

Harry raised his eyebrows. "Set it up the Muggle way?" He asked. "Why don't you just transfigure the nightstand into a small cot for him?"

Ginny bit her lip. "You see, I was never McGonagall's best student...I...I kind of suck at transfiguration and I don't want him to hurt himself, so..."

Harry smiled and moved Teddy so that he was only holding him with his left hand. With the right he pointed at the nightstand and, in a second, it had turned into a small cot where he put the little boy down.

Ginny stared at him with wonder as they both walked out of the room and closed the door beside her.

"It always surprises me when you do those things," she spoke as they made their way to the sofa once again. This time Harry sat first and Ginny leaned her back down on his chest and rested her head on his shoulder, with both their legs laid out in front of them.

"What things?" Harry asked as he kissed the top of her head, taking a sniff of the flowery scent of her hair.

Ginny shrugged. "When you do wandless magic or hard spells without any difficulty. It's crazy to think that royals don't go crazy with all that power, you'd think some of them would end up worst than Voldemort."

The man wrapped his arms around her a little tighter. "It can't really happen, though," he told her. "When the other three founders of Hogwarts died, they left their power with Godric and he spelled it to never die with anyone, but to always belong to three people...first the actual King or Queen, who would have the most, then the heir to the throne, who would have the same but would only be able to use it to its full capacity once the king died or abdicated and then, if the royal is a King, his wife would get the power, mostly so that she can carry such a powerful heir...All the King's children are born with the capacity to gain the magic but they don't get it until they're officially the heir to the throne. But there's a catch, because the power cannot be used on anyone who is not a threat to us. As in, if I wanted to kill you right now, I wouldn't be able to do it, not with my magic... It's actually even more complex than that, it took me years to start understanding it and even now I can't wrap my head around it completely."

"What about Elizabeth and Max, do they have heightened powers too? And other monarchies, do they work the same way?" the redhead asked curiously.

Harry ran a hand through his hair and tried to explain. "It depends of each Monarchy... I mean, for example, the Danish one has power, but it's not in the monarchs, it's like a resource they can go to if they need it. The Mexican magical monarchy, the only one in America, manages their power from the ancient tombs where they live; when they abandon them they are just as common as any citizen. Then there are a few others that also work in similar ways and finally there's the Spanish and the French, which were created where Godric's grandchild had three children with three different women and almost the same time...none of them got any power until Baltarius died, but, when he did, the three of them had great power; specially Teobletor, who had been the first to be born...he stayed in England, while the other two took over Spain and France and then, with similar situations, they expanded to Bulgaria, Togo and most of the other magical monarchies. However, because Teobletor was the one to stay here, we are still the most powerful ones, but also the ones who have the biggest restraints on their power..."

Ginny nodded slowly. "Wow...this makes me wish I hadn't slept through so many History of Magic classes. So, then...your siblings...?"

"Well," the messy-haired man started. "Growing up they've always been more powerful than normal wizards and then, when Liz married Federico, she gained the power from the Spanish royal line. Max has always been great at magic, but he doesn't use it, he doesn't really particularly like it...If he was the heir it would be hell for him."

"Well, he could abdicate, couldn't he? I mean, even if it is really painful..."

Harry shrugged. "Well, yeah... but he can only abdicate once my dad dies so..."

At those words a small silence took control of the room as Ginny looked at Harry with raised eyebrows. "What do you mean? I mean...you could abdicate right now, couldn't you, if you wanted to?"

Harry shook his head. "Not unless my dad died or abdicated...I'd have to get the power before giving it up, those have always been the rules..."

For another second Ginny looked at her boyfriend in silence, working out a formula in her head.

"So..." She started. "If, let's say, we decided to get married and your parents weren't okay with it and we went away, you'd still be Prince? You'd still have power?"

Harry nodded. "And so would you..." He then proceeded, making Ginny's jaw fall a little. "Whoever I married would get the power my mum has, since she doesn't need it anymore...and when I abdicated then it'd go to Max and his wife, if he had one...and so on..."

The redhead stood up and tried to breathe. "So, whether I want it or not, magic is going to recognise me as a Princess, as a royal, if I marry you?"

Harry stood up and took hold of her shoulders, steadying her and making her look into his eyes. "I thought you knew this."

That, however, instead of comforting her, made her all the angrier and she pushed him away, walking towards the kitchen. "How would I ever know that? I barely even knew monarchs had more power than commoners! And... And what about any child we have, Harry? Does he or she have to lose their power too?"

Harry tried to calm her. "You're making this into too much of a big deal, it really isn't, Ginny...it's just magic, we all have magic, it doesn't make us different to who we would be without it."

He walked towards his girlfriend and tried to hug her. "Answer the question, Harry...if we had a kid? Would he be born with power and have to give it up?"

Harry sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "It really all depends...if you were pregnant right now, since we're not married, our child would be powerful but only like Elizabeth or Max...he'd only gain the power to be as powerful as me when his mother was truly a royal; however, that situation is far from ideal when it happens after being born, since it would be painful to receive power that his body is not prepared for. It's one of the main reasons that I'm so hesitant to sign the abdication rights...the power will have to flow into Max and he'd be hurt by it. If we ever have a baby, he or she would be born with the power, but wouldn't have access to it until I became king; the minute my father died, though, our child would feel the magic rush into him and then, when I abdicated he'd feel it leave him...unless of course, he was over 21, in which case, he or she would take my place as King. If we were married, that is...if we weren't, he wouldn't have a right to the throne."

Ginny shook her head, trying to digest it. "You didn't tell me this, Harry, this is important..."

Harry looked at her with a worried expression. "I'm sorry I was too busy trying to get you to be with me! I wasn't about to tell you something that might take you even further away."

The young woman looked at him in disbelief. "This is important, Harry, this was important for my decision."

"Why?" Harry asked. "You told me you'd give up everything too if my parents accepted you, isn't it still the same? The only difference is that you get some power which won't even hurt you if you lose it and that, if we have a child, he'll have the right to be king if he wants to... but, Ginny, don't you see? It'll be many years before my dad dies, the only change is that, when we get...well, okay," he said as he saw her roll her eyes. "If we got married, you'd feel a little more powerful, that's it!"

Ginny was quiet for a second as she thought about it and she knew he was right...she hadn't agreed to be with him only if he abdicated, she had agreed to be with him for whatever the outcome.

"Harry, I'm..." she started to apologise, but he took it the wrong way and stepped towards her, putting his arms around her, making her look up at him.

"Okay, wait a second, I know this is hell and I know it's so far from perfect that it's not even funny, but please, Gin...I need you to be in this, I need you to stay with me. I can't go back to meaningless dating; I can't really love anyone again after you, and I've lived enough to know that for sure. If you leave I'll have to give in, I'll have to marry a stupid, silly princess and be stuck in a loveless marriage for the rest of my life and I won't be able to have beautiful redheaded kids and..."

But Ginny cut him off with a kiss. "I was going to say I was sorry. I was making a big deal out of something that really isn't a big deal with all we've got going for us."

Harry breathed a sigh of relief, making Ginny laugh.

"You know, for someone who isn't good with words, you sure as hell know how to say far too many..."

Harry leaned in and kissed her again.

"I need this to be it, Gin...I can't go on if you leave; I really can't. It's you or no one..."

Ginny smiled as she ran a hand through his hair.

"What about those princesses?" She asked, mocking him.

"Those princesses are worse than no one, trust me...but, even if they weren't...even if one of them was a perfect 5 ft 8, blonde, beautiful and smart woman, I wouldn't care...I only want you, all of you, with your wild red hair, and your amazing legs and your 5 ft 2," he told her.

"I'm 5 ft 3," Ginny told him with a small glare.

Harry laughed and kissed her once again. "Sure you are."

Ginny rolled her eyes and sighed. "So, back to how this started...we're still meeting the Queen and the King? I mean, your parents?"

Harry tucked a few loose strands of hair behind her ears. "I told them to be there, it's really up to them...but I think they'll show. I'm sure they will show and, maybe...just maybe...they might realise there is no one better than you for this country."

The young woman took a step back and gulped slightly. "I said I'm in, Harry," she told him with as much of a smile as she could manage. "But please consider I'm in because I have fallen in love with you, not because I want to be queen of this country or because I want to get married...I know both those things come with being with you, but we're both still young, there's no point in rushing this. How about we get them to think I'm perfect for you and then, slowly, make our way up from there?"

Harry smiled and kissed the top of her head. "Done."

* * *

><p>AN: Hope you liked it. Review and I'll send you the preview the minute that the chapter is finished.


	13. Chapter 11

_A/N: I'm very sorry for the long delay. I really hope I won't take that long next time. I know a few of you found it hard to follow how the magical monarchy works so I think you should just keep three things in mind. They are the main rules to magical monarchy._

_1)Only three people have the power at the same time. Can be less, but never more._

_2)For an heir to be prepared to get the power when his father becomes king, his parents must be married before he's born, or he'll have to stand power that he's not prepared for. (Let's say, if Ginny was pregnant and had the kid without marrying Harry…when James died that kid would have all of Harry's "heir power" rush into him without his body being prepared for it (It wouldn't kill him, but almost)._

_3)To abdicate you must have already gained the power. You can't give up your right to be king before being king._

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 11<strong>

**4th May 2006**

The casual emerald robe hung tightly on Ginny's womanly figure as she looked at herself in the mirror that decorated the entrance to her flat. She sighed, knowing that she hadn't ever been this nervous before. What if they acted hostile? What if she had enough of it and she let her big mouth get in the way? What if she did something wrong according to protocol?

While she thought, the mirror that rested on a nearby chair glowed gold and Harry's face appeared.

"Gin, are you there?" the masculine voice asked. Ginny bit her lip and walked towards the chair, grabbing the mirror with her right hand.

"I don't know if I can do this, Harry," Ginny told him sincerely; however, she knew it was something they had to try. Harry had already made it clear he would abdicate for her; it was her turn to make it clear that she would try to make the King and Queen accept her as a queen; even if that's the last thing she wanted to be.

Harry gave her a small smile. "Of course you can," he told her. "You shouldn't be so worried. They might not be our biggest fans but, after all, they _are _my parents…they must be decent people if they raised me."

Ginny couldn't help but laugh. "Harry, you'd be the way you are even if you had been raised by wolves. Your kindness and sense of honor have been with you since you were born; I have no doubt of that. It's just like Fred and George, no one taught them to be mischievous, they were _born_ that way."

The man shared a smile. "You might be right, but it's only because it's in my genes. Don't worry, Gin, my mum might put you on the spot once or twice but she's only looking out for both of us and…you'll have my dad smiling in a second. He might carry the charade of the strict king, but he cannot resist a beautiful girl with a sense of humor…he'll love you."

Ginny gave him a half smile and looked up at the clock that was placed next to the bookshelf. There were only 15 minutes to go.

"Is this robe okay?" she asked, turning the mirror so that Harry could see her reflection in the other mirror.

Harry nodded. "You look gorgeous."

Ginny smiled.

"I'll apparate in 5 minutes," she told him.

"I'll be here waiting for you."

* * *

><p><strong>"Mum,<strong>" a voice from the stately fireplace suddenly came.

Lily, who was sitting on a comfortable red chair, waiting for James to come out, stood up and walked towards the voice.

"Elizabeth?" she asked as she saw her daughter's face in the flames. The younger red-head smiled.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," she told her mother. "When's it starting?" she asked curiously.

Lily rolled her eyes. "We'll apparate over there when your father and Sirius, who is apparently helping him get dressed, decide to come out," she said, speaking the last part louder so that the two men, who were behind the closed doors of his walk-in closet, could hear her.

"You won't be too mean to her, will you?" Elizabeth asked. "I mean, you two have been exactly in their situation…"

Lily shook her head. "It wasn't the same."

"Really?" the twenty-one-year-old asked. "Because I seem to remember you telling me about the dinner you had with dad's parents, and I seem to recall you telling me that you were scared they'd give you a hard time."

"I was a royal," Lily argued.

Elizabeth shook her head. "But you were a Muggle-born."

"Your dad was exiled," the mother fought back.

"But you still had to get his parent's blessing," Elizabeth finalized. "And they gave it to you. They were kind and polite and they didn't stand in the way of the love that you two had. I think you owe Harry and Ginny at least the 'kind and polite' part, don't you?"

Lily nodded. "Of course we'll be nice to her, Liz. But I just wish we hadn't reached this situation. I warned your dad that this was going to mean trouble, but he didn't listen to me."

Once again, she said the last part loud enough so as to allow James to hear.

The daughter sighed. "Either way, Mum, don't you think Harry's been through enough?" she asked her mother. "He's had to deal with a lot during his life and I'll be the first to admit that most his girlfriends have been a true disaster; but Ginny…I only talked to her for a while at the last 'Victory day' party, but she proved to me, with only a few words, that she's perfect for Harry."

"Unfortunately, Liz, that she's perfect for Harry matters very little, what matters is that she's perfect for England; and I think we're both aware that she isn't," the queen spoke.

"He's really in love with her, Mum," the Queen of Spain tried. "I haven't seen a man look at a woman like that since you and dad."

The mother bit her lip. "Okay, enough with that…We'll be on our best behavior, I swear…Now tell me what my beautiful granddaughter's been up to."

Elizabeth could only laugh.

* * *

><p><strong>"Are<strong> you seriously not going to get dressed?" Sirius asked James. "It's just a dinner, you know? You don't have to be such a drama witch."

James looked up at Sirius and shook his head. "Up to now," he told his best friend as he reached for his robe. "I've managed to convince myself that Harry doesn't love this girl; that he's simply infatuated, and it will pass with time but…he's never invited us to dinner like this before, Sirius. What if he's actually serious about going through with this?"

Sirius raised his eyebrows. "There's no 'what if', James, and you know that. If I know my godson, he's as serious as it gets, I'm betting that he's already bought the ring."

James buried his face in his hands. "He can't be, Sirius!" he told the man, getting a slight snicker at the unintentional play on words. "I can't give my blessing to this relationship! I would love to be able to tell him to do whatever he liked but, can you imagine how some people would react?"

"Some people reacted badly when you chose a Muggle-born, did they not?"

"Yes," James admitted. "But I was exiled and Lily was a royal…it was different. We've had contact with other Muggle monarchies before, even when they had no magical children…"

Sirius sighed. "I don't know what you want me to say, James. So…just enjoy the dinner and get to meet Ginny. I've only shared a few words with her, but I hear she's wonderful and I have no doubt you will love her."

James shook his head. "I have no doubt that I will, Sirius…that's what makes all this so much more difficult.

* * *

><p>"<strong>They'll<strong> be here anytime now," Ginny told Harry as she took her little finger up to her mouth and bit her nail.

Harry sighed and placed his hand on top of hers, bringing it down.

"Please, don't be nervous…I don't want you to feel uncomfortable," Harry told her.

Ginny sighs. "I can't help it. I'm not used to letting my fate hang in someone else's hands, and your parent's are holding mine right now. Whatever they say will decide our future."

"Not really," the prince told her. "Whatever they say might decide where we live, or how we live, but it won't change the most important thing…they won't be able to separate us."

Ginny managed a small smile and went on her tiptoes, leaning in for a short and sweet kiss.

Right then a pop was heard and James and Lily appeared, catching the younger couple by surprise. They pulled apart quickly and smiled while they blushed. James couldn't help the chuckle that came through.

"Dad, Mum," Harry was the first to speak. "This is Ginevra Weasley."

Ginny sent Harry a small glare at the use of her full name, but managed to smile at the parents. She bowed just like Hermione had showed her the prior day.

"Oh, there's no need for that," Lily told her as she held out her hand and shook Ginny's.

"I'm Queen Lily and this is my husband, King James," she spoke in her best royal voice, while Ginny also shook James's hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Weasley."

"Oh, please," Ginny spoke. "Call me Ginny. Miss Weasley sounds too formal."

James and Lily looked at each other for a second and Ginny kicked herself mentally for not following protocol. She bit her lip and took a step back, reaching for Harry's hand.

"Let's head into the dining room," Harry spoke, making his parents leave.

He smiled at them and then turned to talk to Ginny.

"Don't worry about protocol or any stupid stuff like that," he told her. "Be yourself. I didn't bring them her to show them that you could be a queen, that's something that I'm completely sure that you can learn…I brought them here so they could see why I'm in love with _you_. So, as long as you're _you…_

Ginny nodded, but still couldn't shake the feeling of nervousness that took over her.

* * *

><p>"<strong>That<strong> dive in the last game of last season was extraordinary," James told Ginny with a laugh. "I swear I'd never seen a chaser do something like that. You had everyone thinking that you had gone crazy."

"It was the kind of thing that comes to you suddenly," she told him. "I was standing there and I saw that Johanna was close to the snitch, so I did everything I could to distract her and make Gina see where it was that she had to look."

"Ginny's a fair seeker," Harry told his parents. "I mean, she has nothing on me, but she's pretty good."

"But I get bored to death just waiting to catch the snitch," she told the three of them. "I like scoring a lot more and, like Harry said, I'm also better at it. He's told me before that you enjoyed playing a chaser too, your Majesty."

"Oh, I most definitely did. Sirius and I used to play on the Gryffindor team when we went to Hogwarts, but, when…well, when I became King, I was completely banned from playing," he spoke sadly.

"Don't let him fool you, Ginny," Lily spoke with a smile. "He still plays plenty even when we all tell him not to."

"So he's just like Harry then?" the younger red-head laughed. "He steals my broom and starts flying…but I don't have the heart to stop him. I can't imagine not being allowed to fly."

James shrugged. "It's just one of the things that come with our…lifestyle."

Ginny became serious and nodded. "Yeah…I know, I just…"

"What Ginny means is that she can't imagine not having Quiddich as an escape; but, if we're truthful, even Mum flies every once in a while. We just use a lot of safety spells."

Lily smiled. "It's a dangerous sport. Even more in certain circumstances…you got hurt in Angola, didn't you, Ginny? I think you haven't played since…"

Ginny eyed Harry for a second before answering. "Yeah, I got a little banged up, but I'm getting better. The doctors don't think I'll ever be able to play as well, but they reckon I'll still be able to fly perfectly. Either way, I'm not all too sure I wasn't already getting a little too old to play at such high standards, I'm already over the ideal age."

"No you aren't," Harry laughed. "You can still give hell to plenty of teams. Look at Gwenog; she's 30 and up until the accident she was still a great Beater."

"It's most unfortunate that she had to stop playing," Lily said as they continued talking about Quiddich, Ginny's brothers and other non important things.

"I hope you enjoyed the dinner," Harry smiled at the three of them. "It is all thanks to Jack, but I did help him a little, didn't I?"

Jack, who was taking away the empty desert plates smiled. "Of course you did, your highness…your cutting of the vegetables was pure perfection."

The four of them laughed.

"It really was fantastic, Jack," Ginny told him. "I don't know how Harry can be so thin with you cooking for him all the time.

Jack smiled. "Thank you, miss."

Ginny smiled back. Once he was gone she turned back to the king and queen.

"Can I ask you why it is that you have wizards and witches serving you, instead of house elves? I know most noble houses use house elves."

James laughed. "We do have house elves," he told Ginny. "They help out with the cleaning and are of help to the cooks, but we like to have actual humans in charge of it all. Besides, Merlin forbid Hermione saw a house elf working at the same place as her; he or she would be free in a matter of seconds!"

Ginny laughed out loud. "The house elves stopped cleaning Gryffindor tower because of her…she used to hide pieces of clothing around so they would be freed and they were all terribly scared of finding one by accident."

"We do have a free elf, though," Harry told Ginny as they all stood up from the table. "He used to belong to the Malfoys but, somehow he came to protect me during the last battle. After that, my dad freed him."

"His name is D-o-b-b-y," Lily told Ginny. "But don't say out loud! He appears in a second when we do."

Harry chuckled.

"Should we go outside for a drink?" he asked pointing at the garden.

James shook his head. "Why don't you and I stay here for a few minutes while the girls take a stroll outside," he suggested, looking at Lily.

Harry and Ginny shared a worried look but didn't have time to react before Lily agreed with her husband and took the younger red-head outside.

* * *

><p><strong>"Don't<strong> look so worried," Lily told Ginny as they both sat outside. "I'm not going to tell you off."

Ginny offered a small smiled. "I'm sorry, your Majesty, I'm just…I'm not used to this. I'm trying my best not to screw…I mean; I'm trying to act correctly."

"You look a lot like your mother, you know?" the queen told her. "Your face has the same kindness that hers has."

"Do you know my mother?" Ginny asked, surprised.

"Not a lot," Lily confessed. "But I do know your father…he and I have had long conversations about Muggle artifacts. And there's only one thing he loves more that those, and that is his family. He's shown me pictures of you all before, but they were from when you were younger."

Ginny smiled. "He's the best father a girl could hope for. Although everyone says I'm biased because I have him wrapped around my little finger."

"I'm sure you do," Lily laughs. "But, not only him… you also have Harry wrapped around your finger."

Ginny's smile fell a little and she knew that, if she wanted Lily to see her for who she truly was, now was the time. "Your Majesty, I'm going to beg for your forgiveness in a second but, for a minute, I feel I have to talk to you as I would talk to my own mother..."

Ginny took a deep breath.

"I love your son, Lily. I don't know how many times I have said that in the past few weeks, but it only becomes more truthful every time I say it. He's everything I've ever looked for in a man… except for one thing and I'm guessing you know what that thing is."

"So, you don't want to be queen?" Lily asked the young woman.

"Not in a million years," Ginny confessed. "I don't want to have to leave who I am behind…I don't want to leave Quiddich, to be studied by every tabloid…I don't want to have the weight of magical England on my shoulders. It's something I've never even fantasized with. But, if giving in to this would mean that Harry would be happy and we could be together, what does it matter if it's not what I want? After all, all I really want is to be with him."

Lily nodded. "I can't say I know how you feel. I was brought up to be a queen…but I can say that I know what it is to love someone enough to leave it all because of them. After all, I did follow the king to America without my parents' consent. But, are you aware what would happen if the King was to allow a marriage between you and the prince?"

Ginny gulped slightly. "My guess would be that there would be something similar to a revolution."

Lily nodded. "Revolution is a pretty good word to describe the situation. But I'm afraid revolution and monarchy don't tend to go well together."

"Harry and I realize that it's going to be difficult…"

"Incredibly difficult," the queen interrupted. "Because you have a past, Ginny…you have a past that everyone can reach and that cannot be erased."

That last sentence made Ginny's blood boil a little. "You see…I don't really want to delete that past, your Majesty. The mistakes I've made make me who I am. I've worked really hard to get to where I am today, Queen Lily…I've done some things really well and some other things, like my marriage, not so much; however, I don't regret any of them. Without them I wouldn't be here today."

"And I understand and respect that, Ginevra Weasley," Lily told her truthfully. "But there are so many people that don't. A magical monarchy is a complicated thing. We control more power than all the country, but for us to do our job correctly, the wizards and witches of England must trust us, love us even. I don't know if giving them a queen that has been married, and is a Harpy no less…I just don't know how we could manage to tame all the protesting voices that would appear."

Ginny nodded. "I know that," she said. "And Harry knows that too…And, like I've already said, I don't want to be Queen. Nothing would make me happier than running away with Harry and forgetting that he is anything other than a normal boy that I love more than life itself; yet, I know that that wouldn't be fair on Harry, or on you…or specially on Max. All I know, Your Majesty, is that Harry and I love each other and we're ready to overcome anything that anyone throws our way…just as long as we can overcome it together."

Lily tried her best at a smile. "There's no way back now, is there?" she asked. "You're not leaving my son."

"Not unless he leaves me first," Ginny admitted. "I've already tried doing it once, Your Majesty, and separation doesn't really work all that well with us."

Lily looked down. "If the time came…" she started asking. "For you both to leave England and sign the abdication contract, which could only be broken by James…will you look after him? Will you promise to love him as much as your parents love each other? As much as I love the King?"

Ginny nodded. "Life is complicated," she stated. "And I haven't been sure of many things in my life, Your Majesty. But one of the few things I'm sure of is that I can't live without your son. If something happened and I were to lose him…I know that I would never even look at another man again. Not because it's wrong. If Harry couldn't be with me he'd want me to be happy with someone else, but I've been with other men before and I've experienced different kinds of love…the love for my family, my love for Quiddich, even the love I felt for my first husband…And they mean very little when you compare them to what I feel for Harry."

The mother nodded. "And will you be able to look after my power?" Lily asked her. "I must admit that it's not all that much…I'm probably not a lot more powerful than a normal talented witch but…it takes some getting used to, Ginny, especially when you're pregnant and you can feel how your magic envelopes your baby. I'm going to miss having it but, if I'm honest, I don't mind it so much if it's you who's taking it."

Ginny wanted to say _thank you_, but she didn't quite know if it was the thing to say. Instead she stood up and started to head inside; yet, before she left, she asked the queen a question.

"If it were up to you," she questioned. "And you knew that the Wizarding population could be persuaded into accepting me…would you vouch for me as queen? Do you think I could do it?"

Lily looked up to her and stood up to. "Once again, if I'm honest, I don't think you could be happy as a queen, Ginny. And, personally, I don't believe that you could learn how to be a good one…you're outspoken, stubborn and you're too ambitious to hold back and watch things evolve around while you a have to carefully consider your every word and action. Then again…if you ask the king to describe me, he'll let you know that I'm exactly the same way; the only difference is that I was raised to hide that part of me. While, as I see it, your parents raised you to never hide who you are."

Ginny thought she was over but the queen continued.

"I can't tell you that I think you're a good option as a queen, Ginny, because I think we're both fully aware that you're not. Nevertheless, if you look at the past, some of Gryffindor's descendents have been a lot worse than you could ever be. But we both know that what I think about this is completely irrelevant. The king has the last say."

"We…I know that," Ginny told her. She was ready to thank her for her honesty but the queen said one more thing before leaving.

"However, I do have a say in what I want as a mother. And, as much as I may be digging my own grave by saying it…I think you're the perfect woman for the boy I've raised, Ginny, and I have no doubt that you are the one for him."

Ginny nodded as the queen departed. "Thank you," she finally said more to herself that anyone else. Yet, this time, she truly meant it.

* * *

><p><strong>"It<strong> was a pleasure meeting you, Ginny," the king told Ginny with a smile. "I'm looking forward to persuading Lily to let us play a little two-a-side Quiddich one day."

Ginny laughed. "The pleasure has been mine, Your Majesty," the red head offered, becoming serious. "And, I want to thank you…I don't know if I deserved how civil and welcoming you've been to me tonight."

"She was expecting a war zone," Harry's voice came as he came out into the patio with his mother. He smiled and put his arm around Ginny.

Lily also smiled. "We're not that mean. Though I must admit you melted us a little…we were prepared to be kind, but not quite so much."

Ginny forced a small smile. "I'm not sure if I should thank you or apologize…"

Everyone made a noise of protest but Ginny's voice interrupted them.

"But I think I'll just say that it's been great to meet you both. I now know why Harry's the way he is…"

James looked offended. "Is that supposed to be a compliment?"

Lily laughed and hit his arm.

"And you have shown us just why Harry is so smitten with you. It really has been a pleasure, Ginny."

Ginny offered a very small bow and then the king and the queen disapparated.

Harry's smile grew wider.

"It went amazingly!" he exclaimed as he turned to look at Ginny and put his arms around her. He pulled apart and looked at her face lovingly, placing a lose strand of hair behind her ear. "They loved you."

Ginny smiled sadly. "They loved me as your girlfriend."

Harry became confused.

"But not as your queen, Harry," the red-head finished as she placed her head on Harry's chest. "I'm sorry…I swear I tried my best."

Harry shushed her immediately. "For a start," he began. "I brought you here so they could meet you and realize just why it is that I love you so much. Yes, I won't lie, I was hoping they'd be able to see you as a part of the royal family but, if it turns out that they don't accept…it doesn't matter anymore, Gin. Besides, who knows? Maybe they might wake up realizing you'll be the best queen this country has ever had."

Ginny simply shrugged and reached up to peck his lips. Harry pulled her closer to him and deepened the kiss, loving that she was here and his parents were completely aware of it. It almost seemed truly official now.

Ginny leaned into the kiss a little more before pulling back slowly. Harry caressed her cheek.

"Stay tonight."

Ginny paused, hesitant. "I really shouldn't."

Harry shook his head, "Please…"

Ginny looked at him for a second. His glasses making his beautiful and tired emerald eyes shine with the fire of the candlelight and his jaw beginning to gather some miniscule stubble that only someone who had observed him newly shaved could see. He looked hopeful. He looked happy.

"Okay," she said, kissing him once more. "I don't like it, but, for you…okay."

* * *

><p>AN: There's that. I'm guessing you're all wondering what this means...will the king agree? Will Lily convince him to?...Who knows? :P Except for me, of course. :D Either way, you know how it goes. Please review and tell me what you think and, the minute the next chapte ris finished I'll send you the preview :D


	14. Chapter 12

A/N: Here's the next chapter. Thanks a lot for the reviews on the other one and thank you so much to all of you who voted for this story on SIYE...I'm very very happy and extremely pleased that you chose it as Best Romance. On another note, I know, maybe, the whole 'deliberation'/Will they-won't they, may be getting a little tiring but I hope you can hold on for another two or three chapters until the outcome comes out...having said that: enjoy the chapter! :D

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 12<strong>

**5th May 2006**

Ginny leaned over Harry, and kissed him slowly, waking him up.

"Uhh..I.." he took a few seconds to react. "Good morning," he finally said in a sleepy voice, rolling into his pillow immediately after.

Ginny smiled. "You didn't mention that I can't Apparate from here."

Harry ran a hand through his terribly messy locks. "Yeah...anti-apparition wards. Why don't you use the Floo?"

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Probably because my clothes are nowhere to be seen."

The prince nodded in understanding, finally waking up completely. "Your robes are probably being washed right now. The stuff I leave on the floor disappears immediately and appears the next day in my wardrobe."

"Oh, Merlin…do you realize how terribly spoilt you are?" Ginny laughed.

Harry shook his head. "I'll remind you I've lived out of the palace before and I've handled myself just fine. Either way, why don't you just stay in bed? What's the rush anyway?"

"I always try to have breakfast with Ron and Hermione on the first Friday of the month. I used to do it only with Hermione, but when she got married to Ron he became part of the package. I thought I'd have mentioned it before…"

"I don't think so, but maybe you were distracting me at the time and you know what they say about men…we're useless about doing two things at the same time…" he joked, touching her cheek lovingly.

"Oh, I don't know, Your Highness," Ginny teased him. "There are a few things that you do perfectly at the same time."

She then kissed him, causing Harry to roll over so that he was pinning her to the mattress.

"Are you sure you have to go?" he asked, kissing her while he caressed her breast softly.

"As much as I hate to say so…yes, I do," she told him, pecking him softly on the lips. "Do you know what I can do about my little problem?" she asked him, looking down at her naked body.

He laughed. "Well, you could just take one of my pyjama tops; it'll look like a comfy dress on you."

Ginny laughed. "What if I end up falling out of the wrong fireplace? Imagine the shock someone could get at seeing Ginny Weasley fall into Diagon Alley with nothing on but a royal pyjama top."

Harry chuckled, putting some of her hair behind her ear. "I'll just have Dobby-"

Before he could continue, a pop was heard and Dobby appeared. Ginny almost fell out of the bed, trying to pull the covers over her naked form; Harry didn't seem to mind all that much, which made Ginny think he might've been caught by the house-elf in a similar situation before.

"Dobby is at your service, you're Royal Highness, Prince Harry James Potter of Evans and Gryffindor," the elf spoke, his green eyes opening widely. Ginny wondered why she'd never seen him before and then remembered he was the free elf that they'd told her about last night.

"Do you think you could fetch a robe and its convenient under-robes for Miss Weasley to wear, Dobby? She's kind of small, so maybe you can just shorten one of Elizabeth's old ones…"

"Hey!" Ginny protested half-heatedly, but, before she could tell the elf her actual size, the little creature had disappeared.

She simply looked at Harry and laughed.

* * *

><p><strong>"That's<strong> one set of expensive robes you're wearing..." was Hermione's welcoming comment as Ginny came out of the fireplace.

Ron was already dressed in his Ministry clothes while Hermione was sporting a beautiful blue working robe. They were both sitting at the table, obviously waiting for her. Ginny couldn't help but sigh at Hermione's observation.

"I think they're Elizabeth's...I stayed over at the Palace," she announced, making her brother grimace.

"There was no need to specify," Ron protested.

"Be an adult, Ronald. I don't think there's any need to remind you that your sister is twenty-four years old and in a very serious adult relationship," Hermione defended Ginny, as she looked at her sister-in-law, offering her some jam. "So," the brunette started happily, "it went well, then. It must have if you stayed over. I know for a fact you've never done that before."

Ginny shrugged, having known that she would be interrogated but not knowing the way to describe the outcome of the dinner. "They are great people," she confessed.

"They are," Hermione agreed. "You always think they're going to be stuck up and just not normal, but they're a fantastic family."

Ginny offered her a smile. "Now I know why Harry's the way he is, and even though I know he'd always be a good man, I can see why he's so honest and brave. It was also incredible to see the way the King and Queen look at each other...I don't think I've ever seen Dad and Mum so in love, and trust me, I had never seen anyone as mushy as our parents, so that's saying something..."

"They must've been made for each other," Ron guessed. "After all, I know Hermione doesn't believe in divination, but it's always been said that the prince was prophesized to be the chosen one. If it's true, then it was written in the stars or the moon or whatever, that those two people were going to end up together and give birth to the only one who could destroy You-Know-Who."

Hermione gave a very un-lady-like snort. "I'll remind you it was Albus Dumbledore who destroid You-Know-Who, so you can believe in nonsense or you can just believe that they're a couple who have been together through terrible things and have learnt to live their lives leaning on each other."

Ron gave Hermione a small smile and leaned over to kiss her forehead. "You're the intelligent one, love. I'm just guessing mindlessly..."

Hermione had to smile at that...hell! Even Ginny had to smile at those words.

"The king reminds me of Fred and George," Ginny let them know. "He's incredibly funny. And the Queen just carries herself with such elegance and a 'knowing' air that makes her look wise beyond her years. They didn't even give me a hard time."

"So it went well?" Hermione asked excitedly.

Ginny shook her head a little. "I didn't say that," she made clear. "Yes, they were extremely kind and, yes, they made me feel welcome. I even talked with the Queen in all honesty about the situation and she made two things very clear. One, that she approved of me as her son's girlfriend or future wife and, two, that she didn't think I had it in me to be Queen."

"Yet, it's all in the hands of the King, isn't it?" Hermione asked, already knowing the answer.

Ron shook his head disapprovingly. "He's never going to allow Ginny to be Queen," he said. "She's a harpy with a bad reputation, and who has been married; can you imagine what most people would say? I'm sure some of the most traditional families would go against the Crown, maybe even get the Wizengamot involved."

Hermione nodded sadly. "It's sad but true," she admitted. "But, who knows? Maybe the Wizarding World might just surprise you."

Ginny shrugged. "You already know I don't want to be Queen. The only thing I want is to be with Harry, there's not much I can ask for apart from that."

"Blimey," Ron suddenly said, seemingly realizing something. "Do you reckon you'll have to leave England?" he asked. "If he abdicates, that is..."

His sister bit her lip. "Yeah, probably; but we've tried to keep those thoughts at bay. The first thing to do is try to make the country understand that I can be Queen. Or, more likely, understand, believe... oh, who am I kidding? We have to lie to them and make them see me as something I'm not. Then," she continued, "if that doesn't work...we'll leave."

"But, you won't be exiled or anything like that, will you?" Ron asked, worried. "I mean, you'll be able to come back every once in a while, have your kids go to Hogwarts, you know..."

"Not really, I don't know..." was Ginny's answer. "I'm really not sure how it works at all. I know that Harry's parents left for America when You-Know-Who took over and that Harry was born there, but then I also recall that his parents where in England with him on the night he got the scar."

"It's probably up to you, then," Ron supposed. "But I don't think you'll be able to come that much..."

"I'd rather not think about it, Ron," the red-head told her brother. "I'm kind of leaving it in Harry's hands. I think I can trust him with this."

"By 'this', you realize you mean 'the rest of your life', right?" he asked. Hermione kicked him underneath the table but Ron, used to it by now, barely yelped.

Ginny looked at her brother with a small smile. "It's already his, isn't it? I've decided I'm in... by saying that, I basically said 'I do'."

"What about Quidditch?" Hermione asked. "Your legs look completely healed."

Ginny shook her head. "Don't let me fool you," she told her. "They're still stiff and not ready to play, but if I'm honest, I'm not too sure I have it in me to go back to the Harpies. My contract is up in June and I don't know if I'll ever be up to League standards again. Besides, I've been playing professionally since I was 17 so, maybe...just maybe, it's time to put Quidditch aside and concentrate on Harry and the rest."

Ron nearly spit out his drink. "Are you honestly telling me you're going to stop playing Quidditch so you can marry the prince and start a family with him?" he asked, unbelieving.

"Well, by the time Mum was 24 she'd already had Bill, Charlie and Percy," Ginny offered. "I'm not saying I'm going to have a baby now, but it can't hurt to start thinking about retiring officially. Chasers start making mistakes once they cross the 25-year-old line and I'm pretty close to it."

Ron's response was surprising. He stood up and reached for his work bag.

"It's up to you, Ginny," he let her know as he kissed her softly on the top of her head. "Hermione's right. You're old enough to know what's good to you." He then turned to Hermione. "But if she beats us to having kids I swear that I'll never let you hear the end of it."

Having said that, he disapparated, leaving Ginny and Hermione looking at each other with surprised smiles.

* * *

><p><strong>"Buenos<strong> días!" Harry exclaimed happily when he reached the table where his parents were having dinner. The Spanish welcome had come out spontaneously, matching his happy mood after what he thought had been a perfect night. He kissed both his parents' heads and sat down opposite his mother. "It's sunny today."

Lily smiled. "Luckily it'll stay like this until we leave for Norway next week."

James sighed. "I had forgotten about that..." he said, obviously not as enthusiastic as his wife about the arrangement.

Harry nodded. "It probably will; it looks like it might be a warm summer."

"Yes, it most probably will be," James agreed, ending the conversation and introducing an awkward silence.

The fact that they were still talking about the weather should have been the first sign that things were a little tense, but Harry didn't quite realize it.

"So," he started. "You two were incredible last night. You don't know how much I appreciate it. Ginny truly loved both of you."

Lily smiled again, this time even more brightly. "She's a remarkable witch. I've met very few like her."

"There's no one like her," Harry made clear. "She's as unique as it gets."

"And funny too," James admitted. "What a sense of humour that girl has... and she doesn't fall behind in the looks department either."

Harry couldn't be happier. "They always say that you look for a reminder of your mother in the girls you date. I think I finally realized that it might be true."

"She doesn't really look that much like me," Lily expressed her thoughts.

"No, she doesn't," Harry quickly stated. "Elizabeth and you have darker red hair and she's paler... but she does remind me of you sometimes; the way she talks, just the way she 'is' in general."

James nodded. "She's not Cho Chang, that's for sure."

Harry's eyes shone with hope.

"But," came the inevitable word. "It can't be, Harry, I'm sorry."

Lily frowned. "Maybe it's a little soon to..."

However, James didn't seem to be listening to her. "She's an amazing girl, Harry. She comes from a good family, her father is an important part of the Ministry and her brothers are well known for different but all honourable reasons."

"So what's the problem?" Harry spoke defiantly, knowing full well what the problem was.

"She's a female Quidditch player which," he continued, making sure he wouldn't offend his wife with his words, "...is completely fine, but is not a job that the people will see as adequate for a future Queen. Then she's a Harpy, no less, which ensures that rumours of any 'inappropriate behaviour' have always run around like friendly fire."

"Rumours are only that, Dad, rumours..." Harry tried to defend Ginny.

"Not when there's a signed document that states that she has been married to another man," James stated. "That's not a 'rumour', that's just a clear undeniable fact. And I'm not saying it makes Ginny into anything she's not, but... it's just not right for someone of our standards, Son. I know it's unfair, I know it angers you; but that's just the way things are."

Harry looked down at his plate. "You haven't even tried to look outside the box, here...Ginny is a wonderful woman, she's caring and kind and honest; and she has many people who support her as a Quidditch player and as a woman."

"Sweetheart," Lily spoke, taking Harry's hand on top of the table. "She most definitely _is_ a wonderful woman, but I'll tell you what I told her last night; she doesn't have it in her to be Queen. She's stubborn and feisty and doesn't like being quiet about injustice. Being Queen would be torture for her."

"She'd do it for me," Harry told them. "I know for a fact she spent a whole afternoon gathering basic protocol notions so she could behave appropriately at dinner. However, she left them aside because I asked her to be herself. I have complete faith that she can be Queen."

"What about the people, Harry? Do you have faith in them accepting her as such?" James asked.

Harry shrugged. "We're in the 21st century."

"We also still write with quills and use owls to carry post...We are not the Muggle world, son...maybe Muggle Spain took in a divorced woman as a princess, but we don't have such a society and you know that."

"I also know that, if she can't be Queen, then I can't be King..."

"Don't be so extreme, Harry," James protested but Lily was completely silent.

Harry looked at his mother. "I'll have to leave?" he asked her. "Let the power fall on Max's shoulders?"

"You have enough on your own plate, Harry," Lily spoke. "Don't worry about your brother. Just do what you have to do."

Having said that, Lily left, and not a minute later, her eldest son did the same.

* * *

><p><strong>"Hard<strong> day, your Majesty?" Hermione asked as she entered the Queen's office, leaving a few letters on top of her desk.

The Queen was looking outside the window, admiring the way the sun shone on the gardens that surrounded the royal palace. Things had just taken a very complicated turn for her. She had known Ginny would be an amazing girl from the first time her son had told her about the red-head, but she had never expected to find her so charming. She still thought that Ginny couldn't be Queen, if not because she didn't have it in her, because the people wouldn't accept her but, what other faults did she have? She was elegant, beautiful, caring, smart, kind... and the most important, she truly loved Harry.

"A little bit," Lily responded, as she made her way to her desk. "I'm guessing you know about our small dinner event?"

The brunette offered a small smile. "Yes, my husband and I had Ginny over for breakfast this morning and she told us about it. The King and you really impressed her, she was very grateful for the way you treated her."

"She left us no other option. The king and I are used to Harry's girlfriends being very...how could you say it? Very...Unwelcoming. Your sister-in-law was definitely a welcome change."

Hermione laughed. "She spent the entire afternoon learning some protocol so she wouldn't embarrass herself."

Lily nodded, acknowledging the effort. "I could tell that she was keen to make a good impression; she loves the prince very much."

"The prince loves her very much too," Hermione admitted. "He's made her believe in love, which is something we all thought was impossible for Ginny. Your majesty," Hermione continued, "I know it is not adequate for me to ask, but against my better judgment I'd like to know if the King sees Ginny as an option."

Lily obviously didn't have to ask what Hermione meant, so she just sighed.

"The king loved Ginny, Hermione," the queen made clear. "As did I... but she's not an option, Hermione. I think you know more than any of us about how royalty works, you've been studying it for years, and so you know perfectly well that this situation is very hard."

"But, what...I mean, things are changing, your Majesty. You managed to make your way into the royal house being a Muggle-born. Maybe...maybe Ginny marrying Harry is difficult but possible?"

Lily gave her a sympathetic smile. "Think about the Malfoys, Hermione...or the Rocklands, or, Merlin, even the Diggorys. Do you honestly think they would accept a commoner queen with Ginny's past?"

Hermione was silent.

"We are not a Muggle monarchy, Hermione. The King and Harry have enough raw magic to destroy every single enemy that Britain could ever have, yet, they can only use it when they are presented with a direct threat. Being a royal is no joke; being a royal means carrying the responsibility of protecting your people, and the people don't take that lightly. We can only imagine what the reaction might be if Ginny were to become Princess, but who can assure us that the original families won't start a revolt that might end in the 'consucutio auspicio'?" Lily thought out loud.

Hermione looked slightly shocked. "The amount of power that would be needed for that...they'd probably have to get another royal family involved."

"And who's to say they wouldn't?" Lily asked rhetorically. "I'm aware it's unlikely...we have many close friends in the Wizengamot that would never go against us like that, but I don't think it's something we even want to test."

"It just seems...unfair," Hermione voiced out her opinion. "Harry could be an amazing King, especially with Ginny at his side."

Lily shrugged. "And he'd probably be a terrible one without her... which means he just can't be King."

* * *

><p><strong>The<strong> mirror lighted up again, but Harry ignored it for the third time. He knew Ginny had some training today and she was probably calling to tell him know how her legs were doing, but he couldn't bring himself to answer. He had a lot to think about.

He should've seen this coming. He'd just been so naive to believe that, maybe, just maybe, his father would try and see this situation from his perspective. Harry truly believed the country could accept them if they only made them understand. And, yet, Harry knew that that wasn't what Ginny wanted, or what his parents wanted.

The mirror made a sound this time and Harry knew it was probably time to answer.

"Where the hell have you been?" Ginny asked angrily. Harry could tell by her red cheeks that he wasn't going to get out of this one easily. "It's almost night-time and I haven't heard a word from you since this morning."

"I know," he answered quietly. "I'm sorry."

Ginny scowled. "Is that all I'm going to get?" she asked, ready to start shouting at his image.

He shook his head. "I had a lot on my mind. I just wanted to sort it all out before talking to you..."

"You talked to your parents," Ginny reached the conclusion immediately. "You did, didn't you?"

Harry nodded.

"And you're having doubts _now_?" she asked incredulously. She couldn't quite believe that after everything they'd gone through he could start doubting their relationship now.

"No," Harry replied quickly. "I just...I guess I expected them to think it through. It's like Dad didn't even think about it...his mind has been made up since day one."

Ginny managed to be slightly sympathetic. "Harry...I thought you knew that was the most likely outcome."

"Yeah, yeah...I know. It's just different to have it said like that," he told her. "I mean, we didn't talk about it officially but he's basically letting me know that I have no other option than abdicate."

Ginny breathed in, maybe it was the time to offer him a way out. She knew it would kill her but if it was what he needed to be happy, she would try her hardest to live without him. "If you need me to back off, Harry...I-I will," she told him. "I guess this just became real for you so, if you need a few days to think everything through, I..."

"Don't you dare," were his words. "I wasn't lying when I told you the only thing I wanted is you by my side. Maybe this is a bit of a wake-up call but it doesn't change anything. I won't be King without you Ginny; I won't be _anything _without you."

Ginny offered him a sad smile. "I'm sorry it didn't work out how you wanted it to."

Harry slugged. "You're still here," he answered. "That's all I really need."

At that moment Ginny wished they were talking face-to-face. She wanted to kiss him very badly.

"I'm sorry for being absent all day," he apologized. "How was training?"

Ginny bit her lip. "Horrible," she admitted. "My leg wouldn't work properly and, therefore, my broom would become unbalanced easily. Also, Gwenog is in another country and it just doesn't feel like the Harpies without her."

"I'm sorry it didn't work out how you wanted it to, either," he confessed, smiling a little at the repetition of her words.

Ginny shrugged with a smile. "So am I but, there's other things I can do apart from Quidditch. And, besides, I think that, for the next few weeks at least, you and I need to concentrate on bigger problems."

The prince nodded in agreement. "I love you, Gin," he told her, a little out of the blue, but feeling the need to let her know. Now, talking to her, he realized that it didn't matter if he had to abdicate, it really didn't matter if he had to move away and start a new life. Nothing really mattered if he could grow old with Ginny by his side.

The red-head smiled. "I love you too, Harry."

* * *

><p><strong>6th May 2006<strong>

A knock was heard on Arthur Weasley's door at around ten to twelve. He was signing off some papers before leaving to have lunch at the burrow but he wasn't surprised to be interrupted. Arthur was used to people coming to him even more than they would come to the actual Muggle Artifacts minister.

What he was surprised at, however, was finding the queen standing outside his office.

"Hello, Arthur," she spoke in a sweet voice.

Arthur bowed. "Good morning, Your Majesty," he answered, leaving space for her to enter. "I'm sorry about the mess, I wasn't expecting you today."

Lily smiled. "Don't worry, Arthur…I hope it's not a bad time."

The man shook his head. "Of course not," he told her. "I was only signing some papers before leaving to go home for lunch."

The queen laughed. "Oh, that's okay…I won't keep you away from Molly's food for long."

They both smiled and were in silence for a moment.

"Arthur," she started. "I know I shouldn't come here to talk to you about this, mainly because I don't even know if you're aware of what's happening, but…"

"If you're talking about my daughter's relationship with your son," he told her. "Yes, I'm well aware. Prince Harry's become a welcome guest around The Burrow in the last few Sunday lunches. And I think Ginny had dinner with the king and you on Thursday, didn't she? She was quite a wreck before it."

"She's an outstanding woman, Arthur. You and your wife did a great job with her," she truthfully told him.

Arthur nodded with a small laugh. "She's very in love with the prince, your Majesty," he told her in all sincerity.

Lily started nodding in agreement but Arthur interrupted her. "No, it's…when they're together, Harry's the one who pays attention, he's the one who waits on her, who checks on her every few seconds to see if she's alright. Ginny's not like that, she doesn't show her love that way, but trust me when I tell you she is more in love than I can even imagine. The fact that my daughter has even thought about being queen… that proves just how much she can't live without Harry. She'd do anything for him."

"I think, in the end, they're both going to give up a lot," she spoke, more to herself than the man standing opposite her.

Arthur shrugged. "They can't protest…after all, they have each other. I think that that is all they really need."

The red-head sighed. "Aren't you scared of losing her, Arthur?" she asked, from a parent to another parent. "I'm scared they'll take off and Harry won't ever look our way again."

"Of course I'm scared," he told her. "But isn't that our job as parents? If we weren't scared we wouldn't be doing it right. And, if I were you, I wouldn't worry; you aren't going to lose Harry. Maybe you won't see as much off him as you're used to, but I'm sure he won't be mad enough to cut off ties with you, from what I know of him, Harry's not like that."

The queen tried to calm down. A few minutes ago she wasn't sure what she was doing here, but now she understood, Arthur Weasley was in a position similar to hers and, maybe, he could help her be at peace with herself.

"King James isn't going to accept their marriage, is he?" Arthur asked.

Lily shook her head. "He hasn't said anything officially, but… I'm pretty sure that someone somewhere will be told soon enough to draft some abdication papers for Harry to sign."

The man looked at her sadly. "It's a shame they weren't able to meet in other circumstances. How easy things would be for them if they were just a boy and a girl."

"Through my life," Lily said. "I've realized something, Arthur. The things that aren't all that easy tend to be the things that are really worth it."

To those words, Arthur could only nod.

* * *

><p><strong>"What<strong> if we let them?" Lily spoke that night, as she climbed into bed, where her husband was already reading.

He looked at her, confused. "Let who what?" Were his even more confusing words.

She looked up at him. "Let Harry marry Ginny, without signing the abdication papers."

James looked at her as if she had grown two heads.

"You're letting your softer side get a hold of you. Be practical, Lily…you can't possibly think that that would be a safe option," was James only answer.

Lily bit her lip. "She's well loved by many people; maybe…maybe the people will be able to accept her. She's charismatic and she's sweet…"

"Lily," James spoke softly. "Do I have to remind you about the multiple warnings I had to deal with when your dear son was dating Cho Chang? I got called into the Wizengamot 'unofficially' three times and I was told by some of my own good friends that Harry needed to find someone more suitable."

"But Ginny…" Lily tried.

"Ginny is incredible," James admitted. "And she's perfect for Harry…but the original families would never allow someone with her morals and her social status as a leader. You know this, Lily…"

"I'm just trying to find a solution…if you had listened to me when I warned you that this would be a problem we wouldn't even _have _a problem right now," Lily scolded him. "I just don't want Harry to leave, or Max to have to stand the power insertion."

"Don't be so quick to judge," James warned her. "Harry still hasn't signed anything. I still have faith that he'll realize he loves England more than he loves Ginny. I'm sure it's just a matter of time before he realizes there are other girls out there who can also make him happy."

At that moment, Lily looked at her husband as if he were a disgusting stranger. Was it only she who saw that Ginny was the one for Harry, just like she was the one for James? Harry wasn't going to choose a country over Ginny ever; Lily knew he'd always choose Ginny over anything else.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" James asked, standing up a little more.

Lily looked down angrily, getting out of the bed. "Or you don't know your son at all, or age has turned you into a man I don't even recognize. You know Harry loves Ginny! A blind man could see it!"

"I'm just trying to deal with the problems as they come, Lily!" James defended himself.

"That's always been your problem," Lily spoke quietly but with anger. "You put things off until it's too late to solve anything. And because of that we're going to lose our eldest son!"

Lily let out an exasperated breath and turned around, towards the door.

"Where in Godric's name are you going, Lily?" he asked, seeing she was leaving.

"Somewhere where I can wait for you to get your head out of your arse, without having to see you while you do it, preferably," she snapped at him, leaving the room with a slamming of doors that was sure to be heard in the whole palace.

* * *

><p>Hope You liked it! :D Remember to review and I'll send you the preview for the next chapter once I finish it ;D<p> 


	15. Chapter 13

_A/N: I know…I know, I know it has been ages, an inhumanly long time since my last update but life has been hectic. I think I might've mentioned before I was heading to uni this fall and, to all of you who haven't gone, trust me when I tell you it's a hell of a crazy ride. Not only am I living away from home but I've already gone through so many new experiences…new classes, new teachers, new friends, new guys…that last bit is definitely the most crazy of all and one would think having so many new experiences might make me want to write more…and it does, but it only converts to song-writing and blog updates, not fanfiction, I'm afraid. But, anyway, here's the new update. I can't promise much about the rest, but I can promise I'll try to update every once in a while. Thanks for your patience :D_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 13<strong>

**14th May 2006**

The sun was high in the sky, shining brightly upon the lands that surrounded a peculiar tall and crooked house named 'The Burrow'. It made the day look more summery than it really was, and it made it almost impossible to stay inside.

A beautiful red-headed girl sat on a patched blue and pink blanket, leaning on a young man's chest while she read a book. They weren't talking; they were simply bathing in the comfortable feeling of being together.

"It's incredible," Ginny's voice came, as she looked at two birds crossing the sky above them.

The man with glasses and messy black hair that she leaned upon leaned down to look at her. "What is?" he asked with a smile.

"Birds," she answered. "According to Hermione they have miniscule brains, but yet they know just where they have to go and when they have to go there."

Harry laughed but didn't agree with her. "I don't think it's that incredible," he told her.

"You don't?" Ginny asked, surprised at his words.

Harry simply smiled as he hugged her close to him. "Instinct has nothing to do with the size of our brains. And instinct is also what shows us the right path, it's what told me I had to go with you wherever you went, it's what's led us both to be together."

Ginny turned around and, without being able to help herself, kissed him. "That must have been the only romantic thing I've ever heard you say," she laughed.

"Hey!" he hit her playfully on the shoulder.

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "It was a beautiful thing to say, really."

She kissed him once more and they were silent for a few seconds. The sun reflected on the paddock's water, lighting up their faces even more.

"So, do you think we'll have to emigrate like them?" she asks him. "The birds, I mean."

Harry shrugged. "Who knows?" he wondered. "Where would you go?"

Ginny looked at the water and then back at Harry. "Somewhere peaceful and yet entertaining...not too far away but not too near either. Maybe a small town in Italy, a place where I could find peace and quiet but close enough to a place as beautiful as Rome or Florence must be...I played once in Verona, and it was wonderful but I didn't get a chance to see any other city," she explained. "Where would you go?"

"Spain," he said, without a moment's hesitation. Ginny smiled, recalling all the stories he'd told her about the country. "There are many beautiful cities. The region named Andalusia is altogether amazing, the biggest city there; Seville, is just beautiful, with its cathedral and the '_Plaza de España_'...and then Granada is so charming, it's small and all the streets are narrow and I don't know, it's just special. And Madrid and Barcelona are also incredible but, I think, if I had to go anywhere, it'd be the coast, next to '_Monteconcha'_. There's this beautiful white house, right next to the beach, in a deserted area where no one goes because it's protected by magic. I think It'd be amazing to live there, I'd like to wake up to the sound of waves and be able to fall asleep with the view of the moon reflected in the sea."

"That _does _sound tempting," she smiled.

"It does," Harry admitted. "But I'd only contemplate the idea if you were by my side. Maybe we could also spend some time in Venice, when it's too hot in Marbella...my mother has a small palace there, from the Muggle side of the family, the one that won't disinherit me."

At those words Ginny frowned a little.

"You still haven't talked to your parents?" she asked.

He shook his head. "They're in Norway until Tuesday. Besides, what does it matter? My dad made it clear that this...that we, weren't a plausible option."

Ginny shrugged. "That doesn't mean you stop talking to them, Harry," Ginny tells him. "We talked about this, remember? You're not losing your family over this. Losing the crown is one thing, but losing your parents is not a plausible option either."

He nodded. "Yeah, I know...Either way, talking about Spain," he changed the subject of the conversation, wanting to avoid the seriousness that they were reaching. "My sister and Federico are in the south for a few days, staying with Fede's younger sister, and I thought maybe we could go there."

"To Spain?" Ginny raised her eyebrows.

"On Wednesday," Harry explained. "My parents will already be back so I won't be needed here, and as you're doing close to nothing since you decided you weren't ready to join training...I thought we could take an international Portkey after lunch and I could show you around the town, before we meet up with them for dinner. I think it'd be nice..."

Ginny pondered it for a second. There wasn't any reason to say no, but deep inside she knew what was making her hesitate; Harry wanted to show her around because, when he signed the abdication papers, he wanted them to live there. And, what if she didn't like the place? She had never lived outside of Great Britain, and she was terrified of feeling like an outsider over in Spain, a place that Harry loved so much. And what about the language? Molly had decided to teach them Spanish rather than French as a second language before they went to Hogwarts, but she'd need a translating spell and she wouldn't understand the people and...

"Gin," Harry's voice pulled her out of her thoughts. "It's only a trip," he murmured softly.

She looked at him at him and sent a comforting smile his way. "I know," she spoke softly. "And I'd love to go."

Harry caressed her cheek and kissed her, deepening the kiss and laying her on the blanket, ready to stop being quite so platonic when Molly Weasley's voice reached their eyes.

"Harry, Ginny, lunch is ready!"

* * *

><p><strong>"I<strong> think I have a fever," James spoke, looking at Lily, who was sitting beside him on the back seat of the car.

"No, you don't," was the queen's rapid answer. She hadn't even bothered to look at him.

"You could get over your ridiculous pride enough to see if I might be sick," James retorted. "It's the least you could do after the horrible attitude you've had for the last week."

The glare Lily sent her husband was worthy of a terror movie. She lifted her hand and put it on his forehead with a little more force that necessary.

"Ouch!" The king protested. "What was that for?"

"You don't have a fever?" she told him. "Happy now?"

James shook his head. "I can't believe you're angry at me for trusting our son to make the right decision in the end," were his words.

Lily shook her head. What was wrong with him? James had always been a romantic at heart; he'd chased her for years and had never even looked at another woman; so, why was it so hard for him to understand that Harry had found the one?

"Do you believe I'm the one for you? The only one that could make you really happy?" she asked him.

"I guess," was what the king unfortunately said.

"You guess?" the queen asked, her glare even scarier than before.

"Lily, you know I've only ever loved you, but that doesn't mean there wasn't anyone else we could be happy with," James tried to reason with his wife. "You're the rational one, you know that..."

"After everything destiny has thrown our way," she started. "After us both being born in royal families, after being thrown together at Hogwarts, after the prophecy...how can you not believe that fate is part of our lives? You and me were meant to be together," she voiced out her inner thoughts. "And your son was born to do many things, and one of them is being with Ginny."

"And he wasn't made to be King?" James inquired.

"He was born to have that option, but he wasn't born to take it. You, better than anyone else, should know about options, James..."

And, having said that, the car stopped and, with one last glance at her husband, the queen made her way to the palace she had lived in as a child.

* * *

><p><strong>17th May 2006<strong>

"I hadn't ever seen the sea like this," Ginny admired as Harry and her walked off the Apparition platform and onto the promenade seafront. The redhead was surprised to see it filled with people who dressed like Muggles. "Were in the Muggle part on the coast?"

Harry laughed and put his arm around her, knowing that it was unlikely that there would be any paparazzi here. "There's no _Muggle _part of the coast; here we all share the same sea, except for some specified areas like the one I was telling you about the other day. The Apparition platform we just came out of looks like a bunch of trees to the Muggles, they probably think you and I were having a little snog in the bushes."

Ginny smiled and leaned over to him, making him stop walking long enough so she could kiss him. She then looked down at her feet, which were covered in a pair of loose Muggle sandals. "So ... where to?" she asked Harry, smiling.

He took her in his arms again and continued walking forwards. "I'm going to show you my favourite Muggle ice cream place, where I always used to take my girlfriends at school."

Ginny faked an angry look. "How am I supposed to feel about that, Mr Potter?" she asked him.

"Happy," Harry said quickly, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Because you can now erase all the memories of those girls and make the best ones with you."

Ginny shook her head as she snickered. "You're just so cheesy," she told him as they continued walking.

"You love me for it," he spoke smugly.

Ginny offered a kind smile. "Of course I do," she said sincerely, making Harry look at her for a few seconds and plant a kiss on her temple.

"I'm really happy you came here with me," he told her in all honesty. "You don't know how amazing it is to be able to share this with you."

She returned the words. "Right back at you, Harry," she told him. "Thank you for inviting me."

And, looking at each other for a second, they continued moving.

* * *

><p><strong>"This<strong> is incredible!" Ginny exclaimed as she took a bite of the chocolate ice-cream cone that she had decided on once they reached the ice cream parlour. The chocolate mixed perfectly with the Vanilla ice cream that she had chosen and it all gave her a sense of euphoria that Ginny hadn't ever got from any food apart from that of her mothers.

Harry nodded as he took a bite of his own mint ice cream, and he stopped when they reached an odd-looking book shop. Before getting the ice creams they had spent a while touring the biggest park in the area and some of the best beaches. Then, to come to this point, they had gone through the old town, which was nothing short of marvellous; small streets, huge churches, big houses and charming shops all over the place.

"Why are we stopping?" Ginny asked.

Harry glanced at her and indicated that she should head inside. Given the strange appearance of the tiny book-shop Ginny was hesitant but, knowing Harry wouldn't ever put her in any real danger, she complied.

As she came in she could suddenly feel the distinct air of magic that always surrounded her when she came to The Burrow after spending time in Muggle London; it was the feeling that always came to a wizard when they entered a magical place.

"Harry, what is..." but she didn't have time to finish her sentence because, once Harry had entered the shop, the clerk, who had mostly ignored her, jumped off her feet and ran towards Harry.

"_Su Majestad_!" the small woman, who must've been in her late forties exclaimed as she vowed.

Harry laughed and took hold of one of her arms, so she could stop her bow and hug the woman tightly. "Amelia! _Que alegría volver a verte_!" Harry exclaimed, letting the woman named 'Amelia' know he was happy to see her again.

"_Majestad_," the woman said. "_Qué hace aquí? Llevaba por lo menos dos años sin verle utilizar el portal._"

As far as Ginny could tell without a translating spell, the woman had asked Harry what he was doing here and had said something about two years and a portal.

Harry laughed and told her that it had been a while because lately he only visited the royal palace when he came to Spain.

"Gin, come here," Harry then said, bringing Ginny forward. "_Amelia, ésta es_ Ginny Weasley. Ginny this is Amelia, the woman who guards the portal that will lead us to '_La Subida_', which could be called the equivalent to Hogsmeade," he finished.

Ginny smiled and shook the woman's hand. "_Mucho gusto_," she told the woman.

"_Igualmente_," the woman said. "_Nunca habías traído una novia antes, Harry_. _Estoy ante la proxima Reina de Inglaterra_?"

Ginny didn't catch a word of that and was wondering if she should stop trying so hard and just cast the translating spell. However, Harry came to her aid by translating.

"She says I'd never brought anyone before and she's asking me if you're the future queen of England," he said, making Ginny blush.

"_Es mi novia, Amelia, pero puede que más que en el trono, terminemos en cualquier otro sitio_," Harry told the woman.

Amelia looked at Ginny for a second and nodded with a small smile. Ginny could grasp that Harry had told her the chances of them becoming King and Queen were close to none, and she wondered how Harry could trust someone she hadn't even heard off, so much.

Once they had walked through the closest door to the right and were making their way through a small tunnel that was supposed to lead them to their destination, Ginny asked Harry. "You told that woman a fair bit about us," Ginny stated.

Harry smiled. "She...she's a Silencer."

"A silencer?"

Harry nodded and stopped to talk to Ginny, knowing that when they passed the portal she'd be too stunned to speak about idle matters.

"They're squibs that have always been used as a person to confide in. You'll find that the portal keepers here get to see and hear an awful lot of conversations that they have no business hearing, so the best solution has always been to find a silencer who can never tell anyone else what you don't want anyone else to know...I hadn't told you about her before because it never really come up, but she _was _important to me when I was at school. When things happened due to my 'status', I could come down here and talk to her as if she was a Muggle 'psychologist'...she can listen and advise, but she can never let another soul know about what I don't want them to know."

"It must be hard for her sometimes," Ginny said. "I mean, imagine knowing so many things about so many people and never being able to tell them."

"I think they learn to live with it," Harry thought out loud. "But she is quite lonely...never had a husband or kids."

Ginny looked down at the ground and was about to open her mouth when she felt a rush of magic surge through her, and suddenly the tunnel around her started dissolving into thin air, revealing a long steep slope that lead to a huge palace. It was filled with colourful shops and people in strange short robes.

"Those are the typical Spanish robes," Harry let Ginny know. "They're shorter because wearing long robes here is unbearable most of the time...because of the heat."

"I'd never seen anything like this street..." Ginny said after nodding to his explanation. "Isn't it horrible to walk up the slope...it's incredibly steep."

Harry laughed. "It's charmed so that it feels like a straight street...you don't feel the effort at all...you know, magic."

Ginny smiled. "It's beautiful, Harry, it really is."

Harry smiled too and put an arm around her. "It's even better with you here."

* * *

><p><strong>"I<strong> think you're just looking at all of this the wrong way," were Federico's words. "Jorge of Mexico married a commoner and the country supported it in every way."

"Yes, Fede, but Mexico is also a very open-minded country…the troubles that Muggles have there make the wizards want to rebel against everything that stands in the way of freedom," Elizabeth offered.

"You're both right," Harry contributed, taking Ginny's hand and looking around the table where the four of them were sitting. They were enjoying a peaceful night in a beautiful restaurant which stood on the beach, filled with the delicious aroma of the typical Mediterranean fish. "But I've spoken to Dad and there's nothing to do. I still don't know when, but I'll probably have to sign the abdication papers soon enough."

"When you think about it, it's only logical that you had to take this step," Federico thought out loud. "I mean, how many royal women are there that you could marry? Six? Seven? It's a ridiculous notion to think that you'd find your true love in one of them."

"You found a royal, didn't you?" Ginny finally spoke, eying Elizabeth and Federico carefully. The couple looked at each other with a half-smile.

"We grew up together," Elizabeth told Ginny. "We went to the same school and we knew what it was like to have your future set in front of you. That itself joined us more than anything else could ever join us. But it doesn't make it any easier, Ginny."

"We were very close to avoiding all of this," Federico admitted. "We had always been the best of friends, but there was a three year gap between the two of us, I only started noticing Liz when I was in my last year and she was a fourth year and I only started seeing her properly when she was almost seventeen. I mean, we always knew when we got together that it would be serious since we were the best option to make our families happy, but we never thought my father would die and leave us no choice but to get married and produce an heir in a matter of months."

Elizabeth nodded in agreement. "I came so close to running away," she confessed. "So close to going off into the unknown, to someplace where no one knew me and I could be happy. But I couldn't do that to him, and I couldn't do that to myself. Leaving meant losing him, forcing him to find someone else to be with for the rest of his life, with no option of ever being with me again."

"So you gave up the rest of your life to be with him?" Ginny asked, awed.

Elisabeth gave her a half-smile as she looked at her husband. "I didn't give up the rest of my life…I just decided what I wanted the rest of my life to be. But don't sound so impressed…I know my dear brother only seems to think about what your relationship means to my family and to the country but, what about you? You really are giving up everything to be with him..."

Harry protested but Elisabeth continued speaking.

"No, don't say it's not true…I won't deny that this hasn't changed your life completely because something you thought was bound to happen probably won't be happening anymore. But, think about what all this means for Ginny. She had her life ahead of her and she's giving up her career and her family up for you."

Harry was quiet for a second and looked at Ginny, who nodded slightly.

"That's true," she said quietly. "But it's not exactly like that, Elisabeth. Your brother…I mean, just like you, I'm not giving up the rest of my life; your brother has changed what I want in life. I no longer want a long Quidditch career, followed by a life training or writing about more Quidditch, while I watch my brothers get married and have kids so I can spoil them rotten while I have meaningless dates that never really lead to much. Since I fell in love with Harry I want the whole pack…I want the house, I want the big bed to wake up seeing his disastrous hair every morning, and I want the kids and the grandkids, and everything that comes with that…Truth be told, your brother is giving up his future to make _me_ happy."

Harry looked at her for a second before leaning into her and kissing her forehead softly.

"I love you," he told her softly. "You don't know how much…"

Ginny just looked up at him and smiled.

"So you really are doing it then, Harry?" Federico asked. "You're going to sign the abdication papers."

Harry nodded. "When the time comes…"

Elisabeth smiled. "So many years with Cho and you barely even thought about it…five months with Ginny and you're ready to do it without hesitating…it's impressive."

Harry laughed slightly as he looked at his sister and then back at Ginny. "The crown was always a part of my future and I'm not lying when I say I can feel how much it will hurt to let it go…but living without Ginny stopped being an option before I had even told her I loved her for the first time."

Elisabeth nodded in understanding. "I think you finally understand why I went through with the wedding when you told me not to, right?"

Harry smiled slightly and nodded. "I was just trying to protect you from throwing your life away. You know I always wanted the two of you together, but not the way it happened…"

Federico laughed slightly. "Things in life happen for a reason, Harry…sometimes it's obvious, others not so much; but it's always got a reasoning behind it."

The couples looked at each other and nodded at the wise words of the King.

* * *

><p><strong>20th May 2006<strong>

Ginny stirred the spoon with her wand as she finished the soup she was trying to make. Bill and Fleur would be coming over for supper later and she was trying to make them something that they would be able to eat for a change. She had asked them over after Harry had cancelled their plans for the evening because of royal business in Norway concerning the health of Harry's maternal grandfather.

As the red- waved her wand so the spoon would stop stirring, the doorbell rang.

"Bill, isn't it a little early to …" Ginny started as she opened the door; however, she stopped dead in her tracks when she realized who was standing in front of her door.

"Hey, Ginny," the man said. He looked different, Ginny appreciated almost immediately. She hadn't seen his since last October, when they'd met up for a coffee. Back then she had barely even met Harry…hadn't even started seeing him. Back then she had even thought of getting back together with the man standing in front of her, trying again; though, after being with Harry for a week she had understood it was ridiculous. Everything she ever felt for this handsome tall fellow couldn't even be compared to any little thing she felt for Harry.

"Dean…" she said softly. She was still for a second, but soon recovered and leaned in for a hug. Dean returned it, but Ginny felt immediately that his heart wasn't in it. "Is everything okay?" She asked quickly. "It's not like you to show up unannounced. I actually thought you were in Paris."

"I was," Dean spoke up, as Ginny offered him entrance to the flat, which he gladly accepted. "But I had to do some work at the studio here and came last week…You're right, it's not like me to show up unannounced, but I…I heard something and I didn't know…"

Ginny raised an eyebrow and closed the door. Dean had already made his way to the sofa and sat on it.

"Something about…?" Ginny asked subtly.

Dean looked at her for a second and then looked down at the ground again. "I know you were seeing someone," he started. Ginny was about to interrupt, but he sent her a look that made her rethink. It didn't tend to happen that Dean had something to say but, when he did, it was best to let him throw it all out before interrupting. "I mean, apart from Lee…you told me about him, but from your letters I could tell there was someone new in your life, and I could also tell it was serious. Even more serious than it ever was with me…"

Ginny nodded, wondering where the man she had once stood at the altar with, was going with this.

"I should just come out and ask…" Dean stated, looking quite decisive. "Are you aware that there are rumours going around about you and the Prince? As in the Prince of Magical Wales, Harry Potter, Boy-Who-Lived…"

Ginny's heart skipped a beat and she looked at her ex-husband for a few seconds.

"I wasn't aware there were rumours…" was Ginny's only answer.

Dean stared at her for a few second. "But, are they rumours or…?"

Ginny was quiet for a few moments. She shifted on her feet slightly before turning on her heal and taking a seat on the sofa next to Dean. She slowly placed a comforting hand on his right leg and started speaking.

"We met at a party last year, in July. We started dating about 6 months ago, right after Christmas…"

Dean stared at Ginny for a few seconds, obviously too stunned for words.

"You weren't expecting me to verify it, were you?" Ginny asked him, as she bit her lip.

Dean shook his head. "I was expecting there to be something. I mean, you know what you're like, Ginny…you go for the big things, you chase challenges, but I wasn't expecting the serious look you have on your face right now. I really wasn't expecting that."

The redhead shrugged. "If it's any consolation…neither was I. I knew what I was getting into when I started this, obviously, but I never thought it would ever turn serious. I thought I would simply be a big mess that I'd probably end up regretting; never did I even imagine it would mean the start of the rest of my life."

The dark-skinned man stood up and paced around the room, looking over at his ex-wife every few seconds.

"Rest of your life?" were finally the repeated words that came out of his mouth.

Ginny frowned a little as she offered a shy nod.

"You're getting married?" Dean asked.

"Well," Ginny spoke. "He hasn't asked or anything, things are already complicated enough; but...soon enough Harry will have probably abdicated and we'll be living somewhere else."

Dean looked even more shocked, enough for Ginny to start worrying he might need reminding that humans need to breathe every once in a while.

"I-Well, I…I thought you didn't believe in marriage any more…not after, well, us," Dean stated, stammering a little.

Ginny sighed. "Have you fallen for anyone else after me, Dean?"

Dean looked at her and shrugged. "I've been with other people, obviously…"

His answer made Ginny smile. "You and me, Dean…we were a beautiful couple and the best of friends…but we didn't even come close to what I have with Harry. I can tell you still don't know that; but trust me, one day you'll understand me to perfection."

Dean looked down and opened his mouth to say something, but he was interrupted by the sound of an apparition. He stood up quickly when he saw the Prince of Wales standing in front of him, right in the middle of Ginny's living room.

"Harry!" Ginny exclaimed, standing up too. "What are you doing here?"

Harry looked from Ginny to Dean a few times, trying to make sense of the situation he had just appeared in.

"I got back early…thought I could have lunch with you and your brother…You didn't tell me you had company," were the words Harry spoke as he eyed Dean slowly, as if challenging him.

The man was the one to give an explanation. "It's my fault…I appeared announced. It's…Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, your Highness. I'm D-"

"I know who you are," Harry snapped. Ginny looked at him and kicked his shin slightly.

"Behave," she told him, looking apologetically at Dean.

Harry looked at her for a second and then put out a hand, ready to shake Dean's, who seemed a little reluctant after Harry's slight jealousy display.

"I'm sorry. I'm Harry Potter. It's also a pleasure to meet you, Mr Thomas," Harry now spoke as kindly as he could manage.

Dean shook the prince's hand and offered a small smile.

"Either way, I was already leaving…I'm sorry to have troubled you, Ginny…I just wanted to hear it from you," Dean confessed.

Ginny looked slightly upset.

"I should've told you sooner, I didn't want you to find out through anyone else, but I just really didn't think this would get through before…well, before it was official…"

Ginny's ex-husband nodded, understanding.

"Are you Disapparating out or…?" The red-head asked.

Dean shook his head. "I think I'll take a walk to the train station. I feel like being a Muggle today." He looked at Harry and gave him a small nod. "I hope you can look after her in the way I was never able to."

Harry nodded with a sombre expression on his face. "I'll try my hardest."

Dean smiled one last time and moved towards the door with Ginny, who offered him a hug and a kiss on the cheek as the man whispered something in her ear before finally leaving. Harry watched patiently from the living room, feeling jealous at the closeness that Ginny had with this man and trying very hard not to remember that they had been together in a way he wanted Ginny to have only been with him.

"You don't get to act like a jealous git right now," Ginny warned as she stated walking towards him and read the expression on his face.

"If you saw Cho and me…" Harry started but Ginny interrupted him, putting a harsh hand on his right arm.

"You _don't _get to act jealous because we need to talk about something more important," the young woman stated, making Harry's mood change from angry to worried immediately.

"Is everything all right?" he asked quickly.

Ginny took a step back and looked at him for a few moments.

"Why are there rumours about us? Dean heard from someone…I don't understand how this could get out…"

Harry ran a hand through his hair. "Why are you asking me if…?"

"You made sure there would be no rumours at the beginning and, no matter how obvious we were in public, there were never any rumours so…what's changed? I think in the last two months we've barely been out somewhere where normal people could see," was Ginny's statement.

Harry looked down and Ginny rolled her eyes.

"Did you let them out?" she spoke, reading him to perfection. "Is this one of your bloody war tactics? Are you trying to see what the people are going to say when it gets out?"

The prince bit his lip. "It's just a way to see if they might approve…"

Ginny stomped on the floor angrily. "Harry! I have friends and family who don't know about this at all! I wanted to be the one to tell them about it! How could you not talk to me first before even thinking about letting out the gossip?"

He sighed. "I'm sorry…Moody's always told me that if you want to surprise your enemy, you should also surprise your ally."

The red headed beauty breathed in, trying to calm herself.

"You know how much I hate it when you leave me out. We're in this together, Harry, now more than ever!"

"I know I just…"

But the apology didn't get anywhere.

"Leave," Ginny said. "I don't want to see you right now."

"Gin…" Harry tried. "I'm sorry, okay…but we're in this together, I'm not just going to leave…"

Ginny looked down at the ground. "I'm angry, Harry, and you know what I'm like when I'm angry…and you're stubborn as hell; so, before we start saying things we're going to regret…leave. I'll see you later."

Harry stood there, still.

"I'd rather fight with you than not be by your side…"

She let out an exasperated sigh. "As would I, but my brother and my nieces are coming over soon and I don't want to be angry when I see them. You normally know how to avoid getting me like this, but I guess sometimes it's unavoidable for you to screw up."

"Merlin, Gin…I'm sorry."

Ginny finally looked up, and with a frown on her face, offered him a kiss on the cheek, letting him know she was angry, but not angry enough for him to seriously worry.

"I'll see you later, Harry…"

And, like that she left to go into the kitchen and he, defeated, Disapparated.

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: So, I'll probably warn you that the most possible thing is that there won't be any updates until summer. I'm really sorry, I'm the first one who hates stories that don't update, but I literally have absolutely no time to write! So, well, I hope you enjoy this and that you haven't given up on the story. BTW: Thanks to all of you who voted for this story on SIYE, it was amazing to see this story get the two awards.**_


	16. Chapter 14

A/N: So...Except for the few of you who reviewed chapter thirteen and got a preview, seeing this update in your inbox was probably a complete surprise, but, yeah! I'm back! And ready to give this story a proper ending once and for all. I hope you guys that read up to now will stick with me (though, I would recommend reading back...since you probably cant even remember what this story was about hahaha) anyway, here we go, hope you enjoy it!.

**Chapter 14**

**27th May 2006**

**"But** you're the boy who lived," Max stated, exasperated. "You were born to reign this country. The people have faith in your power, in your strength!"

Harry, who was sitting on the sofa, looked up at his brother. They were both in Holland; they had been there since they had been called in because of their grandfather's health, right after his fight with Ginny. They were now having the long awaited conversation.

"Not enough faith, as it seems," was Harry's answer to his brother. "Look, Max, I'm sorry, I don't know what you want me to say."

Max stared up at him brother for a second before sitting beside him and speaking up. "What do I…? I want you to tell me I have nothing to worry about, Harry. I want you to tell me you know that _I _am not made for it, that _I _don't want this. I want you to insert me into this equation too."

Harry didn't have an answer to that. He remained silent for a few seconds, trying to find a way to soothe his brother. He didn't have one. There wasn't one. So he just had to try to make him understand.

"I love her, Max. I don't know how to live without her, I won't."

Max looked down. In the end, he understood what his older brother was getting at. But he was only seventeen, how was he supposed to start living his life with this on his shoulders.

"And what if I fall in love with a commoner, Harry? What then?" he asked. "I don't think it's fair for you to get to resign and leave it all on my shoulders when it wasn't even my responsibility to start with."

The tone of the younger brother's voice had started getting higher as the panic began to surge through his body.

"Don't get shitty with me, Max. I didn't want this…I was ready to take my place as king someday, I was perfectly content to take on that responsibility. I still would in a second, even if I'm aware my life with Ginny will be a lot easier if we just leave. Besides, by now…As long as you choose a respected commoner, Dad and Mum will be alright with her. Ginny's just too much her own woman, as it seems."

The last words were spoken bitterly. Max looked up and down at him, as if analyzing something. In the end, Harry was the one who broke the silence once again.

"Look, Max, Dad's so young…You'll be an elderly and wise wizard by the time you have to take the throne, and you'll probably have a child who won't mind taking it by then."

A pause took hold of both of them as they looked at each other.

"There's just no way out, is there?" was the only question that Max could ask.

Harry looked down. "There's always the chance that your future sister-in-law still hates me for having been a controlling jealous idiot the last time we talked. She hasn't answered my owls in a week. So you can keep your fingers crossed for her still being angry at me when I see her tomorrow."

Max shook his head. "I can't do that. I love you…You love her…I can't wish for you to be unhappy. Besides, Ginny's even grown on me and I barely know her all that well."

Harry smiled at his little brother and clasped an arm over his shoulder. It made his heart ache sometimes to think of what his life could've been like without his siblings.

* * *

><p>.<p>

**28th May 2006**

**"**_**Divorced,** a known mass dater…Hardly seems queen material, does she, Rita?"_

"_Oh! Definitely not, Timothy! And that's only the things we know for sure. I've already started investigating for my New Book, "The Commoner Never Queen", and there are amazing things coming out in the open." _

"_Such as, Rita?"_

"_Such as some money deals, drug uses and even an abortion, Lorena. But I won't give out too much or no one will buy the book!" _The high pitched voice spoke again, making Gwenog finally turn off the wireless with violence.

"Merlin, Merlin, Merlin…" Ginny spoke more to herself than anybody else as she made her way to the table and put her head in her hands.

"Ignore that bitch, Red," Gwen, who had arrived in England with the Hungarian team she was coaching a few days before, comforted. "They say anything to get some money; you should know that by now."

Ginny bit her lip. There was so much more to it that Rita Skeeter's words; this was all starting to overwhelm her. "It's not just that, Gwen…It's happening. There's no way back after this. My life as Ginny Weasley, it's done with. From now on I'm just going to be the woman who made the Boy-who-lived abandon his country."

Gwen looked at friend for a second. "Ginny, listen," she spoke quietly, touching Ginny's hand to get her to raise her eyes. "Do you know who you're really going to be?" she asked.

"I'm guessing you're going to tell me," came the typical Ginny reply.

Gwen smiled. "You're going to be Ginny Potter, a gorgeous woman who found her man and is going to be living the rest of a wonderful life by his side. It's not your fault that when everyone told you to find your 'prince charming', you went looking for him in the literal sense of the words."

They both couldn't help the small laugh that escaped them as the small woman hugged the taller one.

"I miss you so much," Ginny told her old captain and friend. "No chance you might want to start training a Spanish team and come live with me and Harry?"

"I miss you too, Red. But I think you'll be too busy enjoying yourself with your husband to even notice my absense."

Ginny looked at her friend and they both couldn't help but laugh.

* * *

><p><strong>"What<strong> the hell is the meaning of this, Harry?" James Potter's voice came booming in through the door that led to Harry's section of the palace.

Harry, who has just arrived back in England and was sorting out his desk, speaking to Sirius, who was sitting on one of the dragon skin sofas, looked up at his father's figure.

"James…" Sirius started greeting his best friend, but the king held a hand up to silence him.

"I would like it if you could leave my son and me alone for a few minutes, Sirius," James spoke in the utmost seriousness.

Harry stood up and straightened out his robe, Sirius did the same before heading for the door.

"No, Sirius," Harry stopped him, before turning to his dad. "Sirius is my godfather, Dad. And perhaps this is a conversation he should hear, as should Mum."

James tensed his jaw and trying to breathe in calmly.

"I've only come here so you can explain to me why everyone seems to think you're going to be marrying Ginny Weasley," the king spoke. "The Wizengamot has just sent a very angry owl asking me what is going on in my own family."

Harry looked down and then towards Sirius. "Padfoot, go look for Mum, please. I think the four of us need to have this conversation."

Sirius looked to James, awaiting confirmation of what was wanted from him. The king nodded and the man walked out the door.

Harry gulped before speaking. "I wanted to know what the public opinion would be."

James shook his head. "I already warned you what the public opinion would be. I told you this would not be accepted!"

"Can you really blame me for trying? You knew this was coming, Dad."

James got angrier as Harry threw that question. "Can I blame you? Can I blame you for being a child? For only looking out for what you want? For turning your back to your kingdom, on your king? Can I blame you…?"

"I love her!"

Harry's tone was a lot louder than he had intended, but he hadn't been able to help himself. Sirius and Lily, who were just coming in, stared at Harry in shock. The outburst wasn't normal in Harry's typical calm nature.

"I'm sorry," Harry apologized, looking from his dad to the other two people in the room. He then went back to look at the king with the most sincere expression he could manage. "But I'm not sorry to say I love Ginny. Dad…I've convinced almost everyone how real this is. You've met her. You knew this was going to happen!

James looked from his son to his wife, who was still looking at her son with a sad expression on her face. She believed him. Lily believed Harry was truly in love with Ginny. Why couldn't he, then?

"She's everything, dad," Harry continued. "I…I can't not be with her. I can't not wake up with her every morning. I can't…And I won't."

"Harry," James spoke, a little calmer. But Harry interrupted him again.

"She has 27 freckles on her back, dad…I swear they form constellations. And when she laughs, three curved lines form on her forehead, and her left dimple is slightly higher than the one that appears on her right cheek. And she's the worst early riser in the world, but the most beautiful one."

"Harry…"

"And she never has a problem with sharing, or waiting, because she's from a huge family and she's used to that. She gives everything to those who have nothing, just because she knows what it's like to have so little. And…Merlin, Dad, she looks at me, sometimes…And she sees right through the title, right through the scar…She sees right into me and makes me feel like there's nowhere else I'd rather be. She makes me feel like me, Dad. She makes me feel like I've finally reached home."

Harry breathed in after the exhausting monologue and a consuming silence made its way into the large room. The four occupants looked at each other until, finally, the king took the first step…And wrapped his arms around his son with tears starting to appear in his eyes. Sirius and Lily almost gasped at the gesture, and Harry, after the initial shock, wrapped his own arms around his father.

"I didn't want to believe I was going to lose you," James spoke into his son's ear, his voice breaking.

"I'm so sorry, Dad," Harry answered as he held his father even tighter, if possible.

James gave him one last squeeze and took a step back, sending his wife a look before taking a serious composure.

"You'll take the vow, then?"

Harry looked down. "There's no other way, is there?"

Lily took a few steps towards the two and gave her son a hug.

"You've got to be very happy, Harry. You've got to make this worth it."

Harry looked at her. "I will, Mum. I will."

* * *

><p>.<p>

**The** clock struck eight as Ginny stretched her legs as she sat on the couch. The silence around her didn't help ease her mind as a thousand thoughts were voiced out inside her head. She was still angry at Harry, at least some part of her was, which explained why she hadn't sent him any of the numerous letters she had written in the last week. The problem was she wasn't exactly sure what she was mad about: Was it really because he had gone behind her back with his ridiculous strategies? Well, probably part of it was. But another big part of it was the fact that she blamed him for everything that was coming onto her at such a frightening speed, especially since he had promised to always be there with her, right by her side…And, yet, he was nowhere to be seen. And perhaps that was the worst of all: That no matter how mad she was, what was really bringing her down right now was how much she missed him.

As if she had voiced out her thoughts, the minute she considered Harry's absence, a pop was heard behind her and the prince himself appeared.

He looked a little tired, his hair and his cloak were messier than usual and his eyes were rimmed by red. A part of her wanted to turn her head back towards the turned off Muggle television set and ignore him, but the other part of her, a bigger part, couldn't help but stand up in a rush and throw her arms around him, as tightly as she could manage.

In spite of his tiredness, Harry reacted enthusiastically to the embrace, losing his hands in her long loose hair and not being able to resist the natural smell that it always unleashed.

"Don't ever leave so long again, okay? I know it was about your Grandfather and I know you had no other choice, Hermione told me. But don't do it again, okay? Don't leave me alone," Ginny spoke into his ears. "Especially not after being a bloody git."

Harry smiled slightly at her bad mouth as he drew back from the embrace and caressed her face.

"Never again, I promise." He spoke, but then he turned stern again. "But you have to promise you won't ever be a stubborn woman who won't answer owls when I'm away. I wasn't actually worried, but I don't want to ever feel you're that mad at me."

"Harry," Ginny chuckled. "It's me. You've chosen to be with someone who's going to get mad at you a lot. And do a lot of things that will be a lot worse than just not answering owls."

The man smiled. "And something tells me I chose right."

Ginny breathed in as she looked into his emerald eyes. She lifted her hand slightly and grabbed his.

"What's up with the red eyes? Have you been crying?"

Harry whipped his eyes again and shrugged. "The time for the final talk came. Dad confronted me about the rumors and we talked…He finally understood…"

Ginny gasped slightly but managed to regain her composture. "And Max?" she asked.

Harry nodded. "Him too. He's a little down, but we're being logical about it and he understands. He doesn't like it, but he understands."

Ginny looked down. "So it's official then." It was more a statement than a question.

Harry lifted her chin slightly and took both her hand.

"I guess it depends a little."

And having said that, he aparated them.

* * *

><p><strong>"Are<strong> you okay?" Harry asked when they arrived at their destination.

Ginny looked disheveled. "Merlin's balls, Harry. Warn before side along, please."

Harry smiled. "Do you know where we are?" he inquired.

Ginny looked around, seeing a lot of green surrounding them, only illuminated by the light of the moon and the few lanterns that were lit.

"A park?" Ginny wondered.

Harry's smile continued.

"It's a little warmer now, and I'll admit it's nicer when it snows, but-"

"It's Hyde Park," Ginny interrupted him with a smile. "This is where you kissed me for the first time."

Harry leaned down and captured her lips in his for a brief but strong kiss.

"This is where I started truly falling in love with you. So this is where I wanted to give you this."

So having said that, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a gold ring with a small emerald on it.

"I'm not going to get down on one knee, nor give a huge speech. I think I know you don't want that. And I know this might seem less romantic because you've already basically said yes; but nothing is said or done until I get this ring on your finger. I know in the beginning you said we should wait, that we were still young and we had time...But I don't really want to live in a world where you're not bonded to me forever. So, what do you say, Gin? Marry me? Move to Spain with me? Help me have the family we both never knew we wanted?"

Ginny stared at the ring and then back at Harry, his hopeful eyes full of love and respect.

"I feel like in the end you're having to give up everything, while I don't have to give up anything, and still I get you," she answers truthfully.

Harry smiled and brought up her hand, so he could start sliding the ring onto her finger. "Gin…No matter how much I have to give up, I still win. Don't you see? I get _you_."

Ginny couldn't help the small tear that made its way down her face. "Then you know what the answer is."

Harry smiled even wider and embraced her.

"That I do," he whispered in her ear before bringing her in for a passionate kiss.

* * *

><p><strong><span>29th May 2006<span>**

**"Mum,** we're here!" Ginny shouted as Harry and she emerged through the fireplace.

It only took Molly Weasley a few moments to appear, coming through the kitchen with her apron on. The scowl on her face made her anger obvious, but she managed to maintain her calm and welcoming nature when she hugged her daughter and her future son-in-law. While she was hugging, Arthur appeared.

"It's good you finally arrived. Your father and I wanted to talk to you, Ginny, both of you, actually..."

"Yeah," Ginny imagined. "We wanted to talk to you too."

Arthur looked at his daugjter. "We've been hearing all kinds of things on the radio these last days, and neither of you have shown up to give us an explanation. People all over the Ministry have been trying to get information out of me, and your mother had to leave Diagon Alley yesterday because of the way the press was hounding on her. And yet...We don't actually know anything for real."

"I'm terribly sorry for all the incoviniences, Mr and Mrs Weasley. It's kind of been a rough past few days for us. Though I can assure you, most of the stuff you've heard on the radio isn't true. I just came back from Norway, I hadn't even had time to truly propose to Ginny yet until last night."

Ginny lifted her hand, showing her parents the ring.

"It took you long enough, Son." Arthur spoke with a knowing smile. Ginny could tell immediately that Harry had already spoken about this with her father.

"Haven't had a lot of free time to do it, must admit. We wanted to come over this morning, but Ginny had to finalize her leaving contract with the harpies and Hermione, my dad and I have been sorting everything out this morning. I'm afraid I can't even stay here for long. I...I have some papers to sign. "

He didn't have to specify for them to understand what papers he was talking about.

Molly couldn't help herself as she walked towards Harry and Ginny and wrapped her arms around both of them. "I know it's far from ideal, the situations you've had to overcome. And I hate to know you won't be as close from now on but...I'm so happy you found each other." She turned to Harry. "You would've been a fantastic king, Harry. But, personally, I know I'm going to love having you as a son-in-law even more."

"I couldn't say it better," Arthur smiled when Molly returned to his side. "So, we should probably call on everyone so you can tell them the news, right? Unless you're planning on staying in England for a little longer."

Harry and Ginny looked at each other.

"Hermione will give the announcement tomorrow at noon. I don't think it'd be wise to stay in England for that. The press..."

"They understand, Harry," Ginny reassured him. "I'll tell the rest of the family over dinner tonight. I'd like to do it with you but, oh well, we can have them over in Spain when we're settled and do this properly, have an engagement party or whatever normal boys and girls do." They both shared a small smirk when those words left her lips. "Now go and do what you have to do..."

Harry smiled sadly at her as she went on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. Molly and Arthur looked at the couple with a bittersweet expression too.

"You do realize this is the last time you'll be kissing the heir to the throne, don't you, Gin?"

She offered him a little laugh and kissed him again, this time with a little peck on the lips.

"You'll always be mine, Harry. Forever."

The corners of his mouth formed a real smile as he heard those words and he gave her one last peck before dissaparating.

Ginny looked on at the space he had just vacated. It seemed incredible to actually take a second to think and realized they had actually done it. In a few hours Harry would take the unbreakable bow that would obligate him to abdicate his magic when the king passed away.

She looked down at the ring on her finger and smiled. The thought that sometimes you have no idea what you want in life until life actually puts it in front of you came to her mind. Marriage, kids, Spain…what long ago must have sounded so foreign, so unlike her, now sounded like the only formula that could ever make her truly happy

* * *

><p><span><strong>29th May 2006<strong>

**It** was late when Ron Weasley heard a knock on the door of the house he shared with his wife. They had come back from The Burrow half an hour ago and were already getting ready to head to bed.

The redhead made his way down the stairs and was beyond surprised when he saw Harry standing on his front porch.

"Hey, Harry, what are you doing here?" he asked as he opened the door for his sister's fiancé. "Is something wrong with Ginny?"

Harry smiled. "No, not at all. I'm really sorry to bother. I didn't wake you up, did I?"

Ron shook his head. "Not at all, we were just getting into our night clothes. You just surprised me, that's all, it's not all that normal to find the prince of England knocking at your door after midnight."

Ginny's youngest brother had only meant the expression as a joke, but Harry couldn't help but look down at the ground and compose himself for a second before saying: "Not exactly the prince anymore, Ron. Just your future-brother-in-law, I'm afraid…"

"Oh, sorry, Mate, I...I totally," Ron started apologizing.

"Have the emotional range of a tea-spoon," Hermione, who was coming down the stairs, finished for him with a stern look in her eyes but a smile decorating her lips.

Harry chuckled slightly. "No worries, Ron. I was actually looking for both of you, I…I wanted to say goodbye."

Both Hermione and Ron couldn't help the surprise that he had felt that need. Harry had always been extremely kind and thoughtful with them, but, with so much on his plate, they hadn't expected this visit from him.

"I just…Well, Ron, you've been so great with all of this. Except maybe when you met me but, really, I know you've been supportive with Ginny and stuff and I thank you really. But, I guess, It's really you, Hermione, who I had to thank."

"Oh, Harry, that really isn't…"

"No, Hermione, it totally is…You've been there for so long, you've helped so much, before Ginny and after. And you've never judged, you've always understood. Sometimes you just need your sister and, when Elizabeth wasn't there, I could count on you. So, thank you, so much. And I'm sorry for all the extra trouble I've caused for you, I can guess the next few days are going to be hectic for you."

Hermione smiled at him and took a step forward. "Normally I would say protocol doesn't permit a hug but…I guess, given the circumstances, could I?"

It didn't take Harry a second to wrap his arms around the woman and hug her tightly to him. Ron was by their side in a second too, each hand on one of their shoulders.

"You'll look after my sister, won't you, Harry?" Ron asked him.

Harry smiled from the hug and pulled away, putting his hand on Ron's shoulder to.

"Count on it. I'll look after her with everything I have. I promise."

And the three of them stood them for a few moments. Smiling at each other and with an odd sense of nostalgia, as if maybe in another life, between them there could have been so much more.

* * *

><p><strong>"I<strong> love your dad," Harry exclaimed on top of the music as he looked at the blue sky they were floating through.

Ginny laughed and remembered Harry's face as Arthur had presented him with the blue Ford Anglia, especially when he had let him in on the secret of its flying skills. An engagement present, his father had called in while Molly looked at him in disapproval for 'not having burnt down that thing ages ago'.

"I love you," Ginny told him as she admired the smile on his face. The sun, the music coming out of the wireless radio, his laugh…Not even the announcement that was about to be made could ruin that.

As if on cue, the music from the wireless stopped and a beeping sound appeared, followed by a speaker announcing that Hermione Weasley was going to come on air to make a very important announcement.

"On behalf of the Magical King and Queen of England and the rest of the royal family, I must inform the magical community that Harry James Potter of Evans and Gryffindor, Prince of Wales, gave up his right to the throne last night due to his impending marriage to…"

Harry switched off the wireless and turned to look at the red-head that was sitting in the passenger's seat.

"I love you too. Ready to leave, Ginny Weasley?"

Ginny smiled brightly and put a soft hand over his, on the steering wheel.

"Ready, Harry Potter, so ready."

* * *

><p>AN: This actually could be a satisfying ending for this story and it will be until I have all chapters mostly done. I hope you guys enjoyed this and are looking forward to see what else could be in store. Remember that I send an early preview to all those who review, so sign in to review . And, specially, let me know what you thought, its always really important for me. Thank you for reading!<p> 


	17. Chapter 15

A/N: So, here is chapter 15. We get a flash forward and to know everything that happened in those 5 months, we get lots of couply fluff, we finally discover how Voldemort's demise went in this AU and we get a surprise I hope you like.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 15<strong>

**29th October 2006 – 5 months later**

**Some** days it still felt like he was waking up in a dream. Some days like today, when the sun coming in through the window would heat up his face, and he would wake up slowly, only opening his eyes slightly but being immediately awarded with the fiery locks that he was sure would always make him smile like an idiot.

She looked so peaceful like this. Although he couldn't help but change the adjective to 'cute' when Ginny let out a rather unlady-like snore. Harry lifted up his head slightly, moving his arm so he could rest the elbow on the fluffy pillow and his head on his palm. The red-head beside him was laying on her left side, drooling over the pillow and holding the blankets around her at a rather bizarre angle. Her right leg had managed to escape the thin white sheet but the rest of her body, up to a teasing view of the top of her breast, was covered.

The image couldn't help but take Harry back to the moment he had seen her walking down the aisle towards him on that 26th of August, only barely two months back. He told her later that his favourite colour to see her in had changed, after seeing her hair flowing around the white dress, all her emerald dresses didn't stand a chance.

When he thought back to the fact that they had only been living here for five months, it didn't seem to make sense. Ginny liked to remind Harry about everything he had left behind to be with her but, truthfully, that life was like a dream to him, something he couldn't even remember properly. Perhaps because he didn't even look at it with nostalgia. Yes, of course he missed his parents, and Hermione, and the palace, sometimes even his schedule as crown prince, but he didn't actually feel any longing towards it.

His days now were full of bliss, of peaceful existence. The first few weeks had perhaps been the hardest; it had taken him three weeks to find the person who could actually sell him the white house by the sea, the one he had always wanted, and having to stay in a hotel room with Ginny for almost a month, not being able to walk out the door because the press was hounding every spot of the coast, had been pretty intense. It already tends to be hard to start living with someone when you have a proper place to settle and things to do outside of the house; when you have to start living together in a hotel room, no matter that it _was _the biggest suite they had…things can get a little out of hand. Especially when you're dealing with the infamous Weasley temper.

But in the end it didn't turn out so bad, no fights got terribly out of hand, luckily, and Harry managed to get the house in the end, and Ginny loved it. Everything about it was incredible. The way it sat over a tiny little cliff with a wooden set of staircases which led down to the beach, the light blue porch which surrounded the whole house and made it seem more rustic, 'a little bit of The Burrow in it', Ginny had said. With five bedrooms, all with their own balcony and four of them overlooking the sea and a big garden at the back; with a huge wooden table that surrounded a very old and thick tree, perfect for the Weasley gatherings that would take place there. Up to now, they'd already had two.

The 'engagement' dinner had been thrown the day they had moved into the house and consisted more in asking for everybody's help in settling in than actually throwing a party, although there definitely was Firewhisky at the end. And at the end of August, just seven days after Ginny turned 24, they finally held the awaited wedding on the beach. With just the Weasleys, Blacks, Lupins, Elizabeth, Max and the King and the Queen, Harry and Ginny said I do. And it was definitely just how they wanted it to be. Festive, small and the happiest day of their lives.

A honeymoon, like the one to Venice that Harry had imagined, had been completely out of the picture due to the threat that the press posed. They had gone completely crazy in the last months, since the moment Harry had decided to abdicate. Besides, just two weeks after they said their 'I do's, Harry and Ginny began their new lives with their new jobs.

Harry had been hired as assistant Defence teacher at Monte Concha, and, due to his influences and Ginny's well known career, she had managed to gain the post as flying instructor. And that had definitely been a key to their happiness since they had arrived. Harry had revelled in coming back to his school days, to teaching the kids new things, to actually being able to do something with his life that had nothing to do with what he was raised to do. It definitely gave him an odd sense of fulfilment to know he was truly more than a title, than a crown, it was an incredible feeling to know that he could manage and actually succeed on his own. On Ginny's side, she had been able to make a living of something she loved once again and, to make it even better, the heat got to her a little sometimes, but she had been told it would be worth it when it was still sunny in winter. She was definitely getting a hold of language spells, even if she was also trying to practice the language in her spare time as much as she could. And well, the best part of it all was obviously that Harry was always just a few metres away from her, they woke up, Apparated to the castle for breakfast and left the castle after dinner, except for Wednesdays and Fridays when they had no afternoon classes and the weekends, like today, when they would just spend all day enjoying each other company.

A little noise from Ginny brought him back from his thoughts, and the woman turned onto her back, opening her eyes slightly before closing them quickly with a moan.

"Turn off the lights!" She protested as she turned to curl into Harry's chest. The man laughed and wrapped his arms around her, dropping a kiss on her temple.

"I'm afraid it's the sun, baby, no turning off possible," he whispered to her. "Besides, it's already eleven, we should probably be getting up."

Ginny looked up slightly and shot her husband a dirty look. "I might not be so sleepy if _someone _hadn't kept me up all night, enjoying himself."

Harry laughed out loud and reached down to caress the part of her breast that spilled out of her tiny pyjama top. She moaned at the touch. "Yeah, that's what I thought…I don't think I heard you arguing against what I was doing, actually, what I could hear was more like…"

Ginny shut him up kissing him and turning him on his back so she could lay on top. She kissed his earlobe, making his breath start to come out in short gasps.

"Do you recon the honeymoon faze will ever get old?" she asked him as she came up to take a look into his eyes.

Harry lifted his hand and pushed her messy hair back from her face, meeting a few knots on the way and causing Ginny to push his hand away with a chuckle.

"Not with you," he said simply, before capturing her lips again and turning her on her back, ready to show her how much he loved her, once again.

* * *

><p><strong>"There<strong> you go," Harry said as he placed a bowl of Cesar salad in the middle of the table. "I almost didn't burn the chicken this time."

Ginny giggled. "I'm not going to protest given that you're doing all the cooking. You're spoiling me rotten, Potter."

The redhead summoned her fork, which was on the other side of the table. She didn't expect it to fly crazily across the room and incrust itself in the wall that separated the dining room and the kitchen.

Harry's jaw dropped slightly before waving his hand and bringing the fork back onto the table, fixing the metal and the wall quickly, before turning to face his wife.

"I thought you were dealing with the extra magic pretty well…Perhaps we should practice doing easy spells wandlessly, that way these things won't happen."

Ginny looked a little lost for words. When she had married Harry, she had gained the power that came with being the consort of a magical monarch, but Ginny was already a powerful witch; she had barely even noticed the infusion of power that had come in when she had finally been bonded with Harry for life. So the magical surge right now had been a big surprise for both of them.

"Yeah, for sure. I don't want my Thunderbolt to go crazy because of my unsteady magic…We can go down to the beach later on and duel a little."

Harry bit his lip to keep himself from laughing. "Honey, I would think that you would know by now that I am a 'tiny' bit more powerful than you."

Ginny rolled her eyes as Harry put quotes around the word tiny.

"Well, you can just stand there and take it, then," Ginny cheekily said.

Harry laughed and wandlessly made the salad fall on both plates. His wife looked at him curiously.

"It's hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that your dad is even more powerful than you are. Sometimes it seems to me like there's nothing you can't do."

Harry shrugged. "I hope it's not one of the things you love about me," he thought out loud after taking a bite of their lunch. "The day will come when I have to give it up."

Ginny put her hand over his. "The only thing I fear about you losing your super powerful freaky magic is how it'll affect you; it wouldn't matter to me if you were a Muggle with no special talents and no money. But, either way, your dad is so young…We'll probably have great-great-grandchildren by the time he passes away. I'm sure by then I'll have already left you because of your saggy skin and bald head...I won't give a rat's arse about the magic."

Harry couldn't help but laugh at his wife. He looked around for a few seconds and spotted a few Halloween decorations sitting in bags next to the door, he looked back at Ginny.

"Gin," he said, taking a different turn on the conversation. "You do know the Spanish people don't celebrate Halloween, right? And that our house can't be seen by anyone? Is there really a point for putting up the decorations?"

The witch smiled. "I have a surprising free morning on Saturday, because the third years are on a trip to the magic town beneath the Alhambra, so I thought I could put a few decorations up. It's your first Halloween without your family…"

"It's not like it's exactly a festive occasion for us…"

"That's exactly the reason. I know how you feel about this day and I just want to make you celebrate it too. You could have died 25 years ago, but you're here…I think it's something worth celebrating, even if it's just the two of us. Don't you?

Harry stared at her for a few moments without saying anything. "You do know I love you, right?"

She smiled. "I love you too."

* * *

><p><strong>31st October 2006<strong>

**It** was a lovely night to walk back from Monte Concha through the promenade. The waves hit the shore softly and the half moon was raised above, reflected on the dark water.

"And so the kid just literally comes up to me and asks me if I'd let him be King of England. Turns out he thinks it'd be good for getting girls." Harry finished telling the story as the neared the end of the promenade.

Ginny burst out laughing. "It's lucky we didn't stay for the feast. I can bet Headmistress Rodriguez would have totally made you give the kids a speech."

"Maybe even made me recreate the scene of the scar; who knows," Harry wondered as they walked through the huge palm trees that hid their house from the rest of the civilization. The white chalet stood high on a small hill over the sea, what to everyone looked like a rocky site with danger signs, was actually a two store white house with huge windows, a beige roof and lovely wooden porch that went around the whole house.

Ginny swore as she saw a light go on inside. Harry brought his hand in front of him immediately.

"Apparate to the Monteconcha gate right now, Ginny and tell Rodriguez, Perez and Gaitan to come aid me. Alert the Spanish Aurors too. Quick!"

Ginny didn't move except to put a soothing hand on Harry's arm and pulled out her wand to conjure a blindfold which she placed in Harry's hand.

"Get out of army mode and play along, will you?" Ginny begged.

Harry looked lost but went along with it. Although the blindfold was far too rigid to bend it around his head.

Ginny sighed. "Stupid queen magic that doesn't work…Conjure a proper blindfold and let me lead you to the door, sweetheart. And, yes, don't say it…I'll go see the school nurse about the magic tomorrow."

"Ginny, what is going…?"

But the look Ginny sent him convinced him to put a new blindfold on and follow her voice and lead until they were at the front door.

"Act surprised," were the only words Ginny said before the door opened and the blindfold disappeared, revealing a living room filled with Halloween decorations with a huge round table in the middle. The king and the queen were sat at the top of the table, smiling at Harry. Around them sat Elisabeth and Federico, who had Anabel in his arms and Max, who was actually dressed up in a muggle wizard costume. Also there were Sirius and Katie, his wife, accompanied by their four daughters, Catalina, Anne, Sonia and Henrietta, surprisingly without any boyfriend in tow. Remus and Tonks were also there, beside the Blacks, and beside them stood two empty seats which must've been occupied by David and Teddy who had already run up to Harry and Ginny. Next to the queen, on the other side of the table, also stood the only non-magical person, the Prince of Norway, Dudley Evans of Dursley.

"Surprise!" They all exclaimed happily as Harry looked at them in shock. He felt 8 year old Teddy run him in a hug as David ran to Ginny and the redhead lifted him off the ground and wrapped her arms around his small body.

All the adults also stood up, taking turns to greet the couple. Dudley was having a hard time dealing with the spells they had put on him so he could actually see his surroundings.

"I really didn't expect this," Harry whispered to Ginny as they all sat down to enjoy the meal.

Ginny kissed his cheek and smiled. "They're your family, Harry, which means they're my family too. Today is an important day for all of you, you deserve to be together."

* * *

><p><strong>"But<strong> I don't get it!" Teddy shouted a little too loud and making the whole table wonder what he was pestering his mother about.

"What don't you get, little man?" Harry asked the boy, whose hair was an angry shade of red.

"I'm not a little man," Teddy protested as Tonks tried to brush the whole thing off. But Teddy wasn't having it. "I just want to know why Daddy said this is a sad day for you guys. No one will explain properly and everyone back in England has parties and stuff on Halloween. I don't get why it's sad."

Harry looked at his father, as if asking for permission to tell the boy the story he had been told when he was more a less the same age. James nodded.

"What do you know about Voldemort, Teddy?" the man with glasses asked. Tonks drew in a breath at the mention of the name, funny how some habits stick.

Teddy bit his lips, thinking. "He was a bad wizard, right? Dumbledore killed him!"

Harry laughed. "Yeah, that's right. Voldemort was a very evil man, Teddy. When my mum and dad were at Hogwarts he led the Wizarding World trying to kill Muggle-borns like your Grampa Tonks. So a little more than 25 years ago a seer…you know what a seer is, right?" Teddy nodded. "Well, a seer made a prophecy that a child born at the end of July to a couple who had fought him three times could be the one to beat him."

"Your birthday's in summer, Harry!" Teddy exclaimed.

"Yes, mate," Remus told his son. "On the 31st of July."

"So that baby was you, Harry?" the 8-year-old wondered in awe.

Harry looked at his parents. His mum was looking down at the ground and his dad had a very glassy look in his eyes. Those weren't exactly good memories.

"Well…it could've been someone else but, yes, given I was the future heir to the throne and Voldemort was threatened by the monarchy, he decided it was me," he told him. "We were in America at the time of the prophecy, but my dad had to come back to lead the Order of the Phoenix against Voldemort's forces. So I went into hiding with the King and the Queen of the moment, my magical grandparents, since Voldemort wanted to kill them too, and try to get their power. And well, they were betrayed…"

"By one of our best friends…Bloody rat…" Sirius started going off, being shushed quickly by everyone because of the young children present. But Teddy was too busy listening to the story to realize.

"Well, yeah…He was working for the order, specially helping my grandparents but…He was actually a Death Eater. And he betrayed them and so Voldemort found us. He..."

Harry looked over at David in fear of scaring the younger boy but he seemed to be less into the story than his brother, falling asleep on his father's lap.

"Voldemort killed King Charlus and then went up to kill me. He wanted to spare Queen Dorea, who was the actual Queen by blood, and marry her so that he would gain even more power, but she stood in his way to get to me. She had sent most her magic reserves to her husband but Voldemort had taken them in temporarily when he killed the King, so she stood in between Voldemort and me, even when he gave her the option of moving away…Her sacrifice is what allowed the killing curse to rebound on me and that was the night when..."

"You got the scar!" Teddy exclaimed.

"Yes," Harry finally said, taking his fringe back. "And he marked me as the person the prophecy spoke about. That's why today is a sad day, Teddy. Because my grandparents gave their lives to save me."

Lily looked at her son sweetly and put a comforting hand on her husband's knee, underneath the table.

"But Ginny's right, Harry. It's also something we must celebrate, just like we do in Victory day. We celebrate we almost lost you but didn't. It's something great to be able to celebrate."

Harry smiled, but it faltered as James excused himself for a second and left to walk out onto the porch.

* * *

><p><strong>"I'm<strong> sorry," Harry spoke as he left the living room and walked onto the porch that led towards the back garden of the house. The view of the ocean was spectacular from there. "He wanted to know and…"

"Don't worry, Harry," James said, putting a hand on his son's shoulder. "It's just, they were my parents and I loved them so much. My mum never even got to be a proper queen and now…"

"Now I'm not going to be King?" Harry wondered out loud.

James frowned. "No…your mum and Ginny are so right. Today we celebrate that you're alive but, even more, that you're happy. It's a nice place you've got for yourself here, you and Ginny look incredible."

Harry smiled. "I've never been happier. I miss you guys, so much…But, this isn't a bad life at all, it's even better than I thought it would be."

"We miss you too," the King confessed. "Especially now…We haven't said anything, but the Arab Magical Monarchy has sided with Doodsbedreiging. We have knowledge that they're planning an attack."

"On us?" Harry exclaimed.

James frowned. "Yes…We think they might be trying to take an advantage of our situation. If I were to die, as far as what they know, the vow would make the powers pass by you and leave you completely instantly to go into Max, and he wouldn't be able to use it for days, weeks even…He'd have to be in Saint Mungo's trying to bear the pain of the power. In that case only one person would have all the power and he'd be completely undefended."

Harry shook his head. "Hell…Do I need to get back to England, Dad? Do you and Mum need to go into hiding?"

James put his other arm on Harry's shoulder and tried to calm his son. "We'll be alright, son…It might actually work in your favour that you're here. We told everyone you signed the papers and gave into the unbreakable vow so no one will think to even try to attack you. Ginny and you are safe. But…Max doesn't know yet. I want him to go into hiding."

"He should come here," Harry spoke up. "I've got this place incredibly protected and even if they came here, they'll expect to find me without any powers and Max suffering, they won't expect me to be able to fight them."

James shushed him. "Keep it down, the only ones who know you'll still have the powers are me and you. Unless you told Ginny…"

Harry shook his head. "I'd rather her think I took the vow, it's easier to live thinking we've completely cut ties with the monarchy. But I'm definitely glad we approached things this way now. But I still think you and Mum should go into hiding…this lunatic is going to be looking to kill you two."

"I can stop him."

"What if he finds other means, Dad? Our magic is so limited unless the threat comes straight through to us…"

The king shook his head. "I've already fought a war, Harry, I know how to handle myself. Luckily I'm not an old man, I can still fight for my country and my rights. I just wanted you to beware and…to make sure you'll keep your promise if anything were to happen. The minute the threat stops being imminent…"

"…I'll abdicate my powers, Dad. Don't worry. I'm not lying when I say I'm happy. I truly don't need to be King. But I really wasn't counting on this happening until years and years from now. I really thought the next King would skip at least two generations."

James smiled. "Hopefully, Harry. But there's nothing wrong with being cautious. Just, look out, will you? And…I think you should take your brother in. It's the best course of action at the moment. Though we've literally got Anne and Sonia doing royal duties because Max is too young and, either way, he's coming here now…"

"I'm sorry that this is partly my fault Dad, I really am…"

James sent his son a sad smile. "It isn't, nothing is your fault, Harry. Today, of all days, you must remember that. Your mother and I are so grateful to have you and we're grateful to Ginny, for making you so happy. We hope you know that."

Harry nodded. "I know, Dad, I know…"

* * *

><p>"Bloody hell!" Ginny shouted as she smashed a glass against the wall which she had been trying to place it in the sink. "That's the fourth one this week. What in Godric's name is wrong with me?"<p>

"Ginny?" Lily's voice startled the redhead, who jumped a little and turned around to face her mother in law, who came with a few levitating plates behind her. "Everyone's already started leaving and I heard you shout. Are you alright?"

Ginny brought her arms to her side and sighed. "Yeah," she muttered. "I'm just…did your powers get out of hand when you got married and gained the extra part? I just keep pulling too much magic into my spells. I must've broken half of my kitchen utensils in the last few days."

Lily placed the plates in the sink and turned to look at Ginny with a worried frown. "Has this been happening since the wedding? I really didn't think the power would affect you that much…You're a powerful witch, you should barely even notice the difference. I have to say I noticed when it left me during the wedding but, apart of having a little trouble with wandless, non-verbal spells, I've been doing alright."

It was evident that the relationship between them had developed in the last few months, the formalities of their first meeting were long forgotten. Looking at them you could see how they had bonded, as family.

"Well, I don't know. I noticed the intake at the wedding too but this whole thing probably started three or four days ago. My magic's just gone crazy for no reason what so ever."

And ever so faint smile crept onto Lily's lips but Ginny, who was looking at the ground, didn't see it. The older woman caressed the girl's cheek lovingly, seeking to give her some comfort.

"Is this the magic rejecting me? We always thought it was a matter of state, but what if the magic recognises the muggle marriage, or the fact I've been with other men…What if I can't use magic ever again?"

Lily laughed slightly and moved away from the redhead, taking out her wand and conjuring a scroll, a quill and some ink. She moved her wand and the quill started writing something on the paper, while a confused Ginny looked at her.

"If it's a shopping list you're making…we're really okay with food, Lily. I mean, I know it might seem like we have little but we do mostly eat at Monte Concha so I really-"

But Ginny was interrupted as Lily handed her the piece of scroll.

"_5 Dried __Billywig Stings__ to your cauldron_

_2 measures of __Standard Ingredient__ to the mortar. Crush._

_Heat on a high temperature for 10 seconds_

_Add 4 measures of the crushed ingredients to your cauldron_

_Stir 2 times, anti-clockwise_

_Leave to brew 5 minutes. _

_Wave your wand to complete the potion_

_Drop one of your hairs inside."_

"What is-?" Ginny started asking.

"I'm sure they sell them next to Monte Concha but I see no point in risking the press getting wind of it. Besides, I perfected that potion myself, it'll be quicker and more efficient than anything they sell you and I know teachers have Access to the potions classroom at school." Lily explained.

"I still don't…"

But just as Lily was going to explain in more detail Harry and James came in from the living room where they had finished saying bye to everyone.

"Everyone's left except your nephew, he's just waiting for us to take him to the airport on our way back," James announced to Lily. "You done here?"

Lily smiled at Ginny he still looked incredibly confused.

"Yes, all ready, right Ginny?"

The younger redhead was still speechless but managed a nod before Lily went on to hug Harry goodbye as James moved to hug her. Then, father and son shared a hug and Lily hugged Ginny. As she did, she moved to whisper in her ear.

"It should turn green the moment you put one of you hairs in, let me know if it doesn't…And don't worry, the days after I conceived Harry I literally blew holes in out bedroom walls. Your magic will settle down in a few days."

The queen subtly ran a hand on Ginny's flat stomach while she continued whispering in her ear.

"Don't get too scared, heirs are just incredibly powerful. And remember, green."

And with that the couple left, and Ginny was left staring at a clueless Harry with complete and utter shock.

* * *

><p>Well, that is it for this chapter. Please, remember to review and tell me what you thought! :D And remember, if you want to get the preview of the next chapter a few days before it is out, leave a review which I can answer to :)<p> 


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